Elsewhere, On Duel Academy
by Norm L. Mann
Summary: An Elsewhere Fic following the adventures of twin duelists, Harriet Hartfield and Adam Hartfield as they navigate the strange and twisted world of High School. Oh, and Duel Spirits. Can't forget the Duel Spirits. Canon characters will make cameos, but most characters will be OCs.
1. Chapter 1: Harriet vs Oda

"Harriet! Wake up!" a voice called. Harriet Hartfield rolled over in her bed, pulling the covers with her. "No, really! You've gotta get up, Harry!" the voice repeated. Small hands began pushing her shoulder desperately. "It's Entrance Exam day, Harry! You can't be late for that!"

Harriet groaned and flopped onto her back. "I don't need to get there _this _early," she whined, flailing her hand at the entity shoving her.

The small girl dressed in white darted back through the air, her pink pig-tails drifting weightlessly. "But you said to get you up now! So you should get up!"

"If you don't, Adam's going to wow them all by himself," another small girl said, drifting up from the floor. She was dressed in a black maid-like outfit. She had her arms crossed and frowned down at Harriet.

"Yeah! And then you won't get in!" the girl in white said.

Harriet sighed again. "Alright, alright. I'm getting up," she said as she did so. She set about gathering her belongings and heading into the shower. As she cleaned herself, she began planning out her day.

First would be getting to the arena. With their parents at work, their best bet would be to catch a bus or a taxi. She'd checked the bus routes the night before and had timed it out. It would take them ten minutes to walk to the stop (twenty if they stopped for breakfast) and then a twenty minute ride.

Second came signing in. She'd filled out all of the paperwork, right? Right. She'd double and triple checked. Adam had checked for her as well and he insisted they were fine. He'd better be right or neither of them would be getting into the Academy!

And then there would be the dueling. That. That would be the tricky part. Everything she'd looked up told her little about the exams. Nobody had shared what decks the instructors had used, only that they had very basic strategies. It would be a matter of working out the instructor's strategy and then figuring out a way around it.

She toweled off and made her way back to the room. She changed into a simple grey long-sleeved shirt and jeans.

"Don't forget us!" the little girl in white piped up. Harriet snorted and grabbed her Duel Disk; an older model but still functional. The girl cheered as the girl in black nodded in approval.

The girls. Her Duel Spirits. When they'd first shown up, Harriet had been confused and scared. Her parents had insisted she'd made them up but she knew better. The two had chosen her to be their duelist. Their champion. White Magician Pikeru and Ebon Magician Curran floated over her shoulders as she made her way out. She spotted her brother as he made his way into the hall.

Once upon a time, the two had been nearly identical, despite the difference in gender. They were still the same height and they had the same deep blue eyes. But now? Adam had dyed his hair, taking it from it's dirty blond to pitch black. He'd lost weight, becoming slimmer than his sister. He'd also taken a liking to makeup, putting on black lipstick and nail polish. He wore a silver necklace with a skull on the end, dangling over his chest. He'd pulled on his best black jacket, his duel disk on his arm already.

He grinned at his sister. She grinned back. "Ready to get this started?" he asked, raising his hand for a high-five. She delivered with enthusiasm.

"Duel Academy's not gonna know what hit them," she said with a grin.

It was still early when the duo arrived. Very few students had shown up yet. Adam looked around, a small smile playing at his lips.

"So many lost, innocent souls. So many of them don't know what they're in for," he intoned.

"I weep for their impending doom," Harriet said, shaking her head with a sigh. They made their way into line and got registered. The women in the counter plastered on a fake smile which quickly became real when she realized they actually had the paperwork in order. It had widened when she'd realized they were twins, looking between them for similarities.

After a few moments, they were ushered inside. They stopped in the stands, looking down at the space before them. Numerous smaller locations had been set aside, with several exams currently underway. "Are you ready?" Harriet asked, looking to her brother.

"Are any of us ever truly ready?" he said. She raised an eyebrow at him and he laughed. "I'll be fine. Maybe a few nerves, but that's it." He eyed her, frowning slightly. "You? I notice the twins have been quiet," he said, gesturing towards Harriet's deck.

"They're nervous too. They've never seen an arena like this and don't know what to make of it," Harriet said. "But we're gonna be fine."

"Good. I'll hold you to that," Adam said as Harriet's name was called over the speaker. He smiled at her. "Good luck. I'll be watching from the stands."

The arena felt bigger on the floor of it. Harriet looked around at the stands slowly filling with people. She turned on her heel, jaw dropping slightly. "This's amazing," she said.

"I'm glad you're impressed."

Harriet turned to look at the speaker. She was a woman, well dressed in a deep maroon uniform, the coat of which flared out behind her. Her hair was long, curly, and bright pink, taking up a large amount of space. She stood with poise and grace, though she had a smile on her face. Harriet bowed slightly.

"Sorry! First time in an Arena like this."

The woman laughed. "No need to apologize. I get it. I was the same way when I first entered an arena." She walked forward and offered a hand. "I'm Professor Momoko Oda. I'm going to proctor your exam."

Harriet shook her hand jerkily, a wide smile on her face. "I-It's nice to meet you! I'm Harriet Hartfield." The woman nodded and after a few seconds raised an eyebrow.

"Are you going to keep shaking my hand, or are we going to duel?" she asked, not unkindly. Harriet snapped her hand back.

"Sorry! We're dueling!" Harriet said, scurrying back to her position as the Professor walked leisurely back to her own. They turned to face each other, their Duel Disks activating.

"Let's Duel!" They said in unison.

"According to Duel Academy tradition, it's always the student who makes the first move," Oda said. Harriet's posture shifted. Her back straightened and her breathing steadied. Her smile was all teeth.

"Gladly. I'll start by summoning **Royal Magical Library **(0/2000) in Defense mode." As Harriet spoke, a large column of shelves rose from the ground. Three jade green platforms moved up and down the wall of books. "Next, I'll place a card face-down and end my turn."

"I see. My move," Oda said as she drew a card. "I'll summon my **Giant Red Seasnake** **(1800/800)** to the field in Attack position!" A large serpent materialized, writhing in the air. It hissed loudly, fixating on Harriet and licking its lips. "Next, I activate the Field Spell **Umi**! This'll increase the Attack and Defense of all Sea Serpent, Fish, Thunder, and Aqua-type monsters by 200 points." Water rose, seemingly from the floor. It didn't go above ankle deep, but the Seasnake submerged itself with a pleased hiss.

As the card was played, one of the platforms on the Royal Magical Library lit up. Oda's eyebrows furrowed for a moment.

"And it'll let you access a huge array of cool cards, like Legendary Fisherman or Mermaid Knight," Harriet muttered. "Very versatile. Is this your own deck?"

Oda laughed. "Oh, no. If I were using my own Deck, this duel would already be over. This is just the school's deck." She picked another card from her hand. "But it's still nothing to sneeze at. Because it has cards like **Stop Defense**. This'll switch your Royal Magical Library to Attack mode, leaving it vulnerable to my Seasnake." The Library shifted, it's platforms rising up to the top of it. A second platform lit up.

"Alright, I'll bite. What's up with your Library?" Oda asked, tilting her head.

"Glad you asked! Every time a Spell Card gets activated, I put a Spell Counter on my Magical Library. And once it has three counters on it, I get to do something fun!" Harriet said with a fierce grin.

"Shame your Library's getting closed down. Giant Red Seasnake, attack!" Professor Oda ordered. The Serpent lunged forward. Harriet snapped her fingers.

"You activated my Trap Card." The card raised along with Oda's eyebrow. "**Magic Cylinder **negates your monster's attack, sending it right back to you as damage!" The Snake vanished into a large Cylinder before emerging from the second. It slammed into Professor Oda, who instinctively raised her arms to guard herself. (Oda: 4000 - 2000) She looked up.

"You set a Trap Card in case I could break through such a tough monster on the first turn?" She asked, slightly confused.

"Hey, gotta cover my bases," Harriet said with a shrug.

"Huh. I see. Okay, then. I'll set one card face down and end my turn," Oda said, lips pursed in contemplation.

"My move. I draw," Harriet said, calmly drawing a new card. She reexamined her hand and nodded. "Okay. I'll switch my Royal Magical Library back to Defense Mode," she said, the Library shifting itself as its platforms began to raise and lower.

"And with that done, I summon **Mythical Beast Cerberus (1400/1400) **to the field," Harriet said. A swirling purple and blue mass rose from the field, manifesting into a large canine. It's teeth gnashed in the air, it's jaws snapping wildly.

"Okay. You know that's not enough Attack Points, right?" Oda teased.

"If this game were only about Attack Points, I'd never win a Duel," Harriet said with a laugh. "But it's not, so don't worry about it! I activate the Spell Card **Lightning Vortex**! By discarding a card in my hand, I can destroy every monster on my opponent's side of the field." The card rose in front of Harriet. Almost immediately, energy lashed out, destroying Giant Red Seasnake in a blast of electricity.

"And hey, that's another Spell Card activated! So my Royal Magical Library gets it's third counter." The last platform on the Library lit up. "And that's not all. See, my Mythical Beast Cerberus gets a Spell Counter too!" A second head sprouted from the canine's neck. It looked over towards Oda and then howled. "And for each Spell Counter on Mythical Beast Cerberus, it gains 500 Attack Points! (**1400-1900)**"

"You run a very Spell Counter heavy deck, don't you?" Oda asked with a soft smile.

"Yeah! They combo well together and they're fun! Like my Royal Magical Library! See, when it gets three Spell Counters, I can check out a book and draw a card," Harriet said. The lights on the Library dimmed as Harriet added a card to her hand.

"Cool. Now, Mystical Cerberus! Attack her Life Points directly!" Harriet ordered, pointing dramatically. The Cerberus lunged, fangs gnashing at Professor Oda. They stopped in midair before the Cerberus exploded, vanishing into fragments.

"Ha! You've activated _my _Trap Card! **Mirror Force!** You're not the only one who covers their bases," Professor Oda said. Harriet smiled and shook her head.

"I didn't forget. I just needed it out of the way for next turn. I Set a card face down and end my turn," Harriet said.

"Man, it's a shame I'm stuck with this proctor deck. You're actually pretty good at this," Oda said as she drew a card. "Let's see. I summon **7 Colored Fish** **(2000/1000 w/ Umi) **in Attack Mode!" An enormous fish with a sparkling rainbowed body leaped out of the sea before diving back in. It's head poked back out and it bared a huge row of teeth.

"But we're not done here yet! I'll equip my Fish with **Fairy Meteor Crush**!" An enormous rock formed, which the Fish picked up…in it's mouth. Harriet blinked at the fish with a rock in it's mouth. So did the Professor. "Not…quite how I imagined that looking, but okay. Anyway, now when my 7 Colored Fish attacks a Defense Position monster, the difference comes out of my opponent's Life Points."

"Are you seriously going to break my Library with a Fish with a rock in it's mouth?" Harriet asked skeptically.

"Nope. I'm going to break your Library with a Fish with a Rock on a Jet Pack!" Oda said. Both of them blinked for a moment. "You know, I never thought I'd say those words. But I activate **Aqua-Jet! **This increases my Fish's attack by 1000 points! **(2000-3000)**" The spell activated and a large, turbined device appeared, attaching itself to the Fish's back. "Okay, 7 Colored Fish with a Rock on a Jet Pack! Attack her Royal Magical Library!"

The Fish leaped high into the air, coming down rock first, intending to smash the Library to pieces.

"I'll activate my Face Down card before this gets weirder," Harriet said. "**Magical Dimension **lets me target a monster I control. I Tribute it to Special Summon a Spellcaster from my hand." A large metal coffin rose up, wrapping around the Library. It slammed shut and stayed still for several seconds before opening.

"Yay! My turn to come play!" White Magician Pikeru said as she leapt out of the coffin. **(1200/0) **

"I thought you didn't want to make this weirder," Oda said flatly. "Now my Fish is going to smash a little girl with a rock."

"No, it won't. Because my Magical Dimension also lets me destroy a Monster on my opponent's side of the field," Harriet said. A large coffin rose from the floor, wrapping itself around the 7 Colored Fish and sinking back into the ground with it. Oda blinked and then burst out laughing.

"Wow! That was…wow! Nice turn! And it was _my _turn!" Oda said. "I'll set a card face-down and end my turn. Okay, your move! Can you end it now, I wonder?"

"Dunno. Probably," Harriet said as she drew a card. "Well, it's my Standby Phase. Which means my White Magician Pikeru's effect activates."

"Yaaay! I get to help!" Pikeru cheered, floating into the air. She descended by Harriet and waved her wand, causing white sparkles to sprinkle down on her.

"White Magician Pikeru lets me gain 400 Life Points for every monster on my side of the field. Which is just her for right now," Harriet said (4000 - 4400). "And I'll activate **Pot of Greed. **Now I get to draw two more cards," she said as she drew the cards. She nodded her head. "Okay, perfect. Just what I needed. I activate **Mystical Space Typhoon **to destroy your face-down card!"

A swirling vortex of wind sped forward, engulfing Professor Oda's card. It lifted, showing itself to be Call of the Haunted, which shattered. "Uh oh," Oda muttered.

"Darn right uh-oh! I now summon **Ebon Magician Curran (1200/0) **in Attack Mode!" Harriet said. The small girl in black appeared, smacking a purple riding crop into her hand.

"This's our opponent? Doesn't look that tough," the Ebon Magician said.

"Hey, be nice! I bet she was real good!" the White Magician said, fuming slightly.

"Tch. Whatever. Let's get this over with."

"Couldn't agree more, girls! Now, both of you, attack Professor Oda directly! White Magical Spark and Ebon Magical Jolt!"

Pikeru and Curran both raised their staffs towards Oda. Two streams, one of white glitter and the other of black crackling lightning shot forth, slamming into Professor Oda. She grinned as her Life Points dropped to zero.

"That was some great dueling! You didn't even take any damage! Heck, you had more points at the end than when you started!" Oda said, stepping forward again. Harriet's posture changed once more, relaxing out of her dueling stance.

"Thanks! You did well for not having your deck," Harriet said with a nervous smile.

"Well, it's official. You're now a student of Duel Academy. Congratulations," Oda said, offering her hand. Harriet shook it enthusiastically.

"Thank you! Thank you so much! You have no idea how much this means to me!"

Over the loudspeaker, a voice said "Adam Hartfield, please report to Arena 4. Adam Hartfield, please report to Arena 4."

Harriet perked up. "Oh! My brother's gonna go duel next! I gotta go watch this! Thanks, Professor, I'll see you on the island!" Harriet said as she turned and rushed back into the hallway.

Oda waved to her retreating back. "Huh. That girl's certainly something," she muttered to herself.


	2. Chapter 2: Adam vs Banner

Adam Hartfield wasn't nervous. He hadn't been nervous in years. Not since he'd met his Duel Spirit. He could feel the creature pulsing in his deck, ready to rise and be unleashed. He placed a hand over it.

Soon.

_Soon_.

He reached his arena and found a slender Asian man standing across from him. The man smiled and raised his hand in greeting. "Hello! You're Adam Hartfield, correct?"

Adam nodded. "I am. And you are?"

"Oh, I am Professor Banner. I'm one of the Dorm directors at the Academy." He raised his Duel Disk. "We'll begin whenever you're ready."

Adam smiled "I'm prepared." He activated his Duel Disk, the device sliding into place.

"DUEL!" Both of them shouted.

"As the challenger, it is only fitting that I make the first move," Adam said, drawing his hand and examining his cards. He smiled to himself.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted his sister, racing into a seat overlooking his arena. She grinned down at him and gave him two thumbs up. She'd passed! Adam smiled. Now he _had _to win.

"I'll begin by setting a monster face-down in defense position. Then, I'll place a card facedown and end my turn," Adam said as he placed the cards. "Your move."

"I see. I draw," Banner said, pulling a card. "I'll begin by summoning **Gemini Elf (1900/900)** to the field in Attack Mode." The twin elves appeared in a swirl of light, both of them leaning up against each other for support. "Now, I think I'll attack your face-down monster." The elves surged forward, slashing through the card. As the card flipped, it revealed a large turtle with a massive stone pyramid on it's back.

"You've destroyed my **Pyramid Turtle**, Professor. When it's destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, I can call forth any Zombie-type monster from my Deck with less than 2000 Defense," Adam said. He pulled out his deck and looked through it carefully. He smiled as his eyes fell on his Duel Spirit. Not yet. But soon. "Now rise from the grave and deliver your infernal wrath, my **Malevolent Mech - Goku En **(**2400/1400**)!"

A curl of blue flame appeared on the field. Jagged black crystal erupted from it, creating a winged being of stone and flame. It roared at Banner, blue flames dancing from it's chest and wings.

The teacher looked entirely unconcerned. "Oops! It appears I moved a little too swiftly," he said. "I'll place two cards face down. That will end my turn."

"Then I draw," Adam said, adding the card to his hand. He raised his eyebrows as he drew his Duel Spirit. It wasn't usually this pushy. Perhaps it had something to do with his opponent. He looked up at Professor Banner, who smiled blissfully at him.

No, surely not. The man was harmless. Still, it was an option to keep in mind.

"I bring forth my **Zombie Master (1800/0) **in Attack Mode," Adam said. The white skinned figure clawed its way out of the ground, cackling madly as it entered the land of the living. "And by discarding a monster from my hand, my Zombie Master can tap into her dark magic. Now she can target the remains of any Level 4 or lower Zombie in the Graveyard and imbue it with false life! Arise, my **Pyramid Turtle (1200/1400)**!"

Zombie Master reached her hands into the ground, crackling with purple electricity. She pulled up, dragging the partially decayed form of Pyramid Turtle up and onto the field. The lumbering creature moaned. "And now, I attack your Gemini Elf with my Malevolent Mech – Goku En!"

"Now you're the one being too hasty," Banner said. "I activate my Spell Card **Rush Recklessly**. This increases the strength of my Elves by 700 points until the end of this turn. **(1900 - 2600)**" The Elves suddenly charged, shredding the Mech apart with their nails. Shards flew back and struck at Adam, who hissed and flinched away. (Adam: 4000 - 3800)

"A fitting end for my great beast," Adam said with a nod. "And thus will I end my turn."

"Oh, it is my turn? I draw," Banner said. He looked at his hand and sighed. "My, my. These proctor decks seem to be quite formidable this year. I play **Tribute Doll**. This allows me to Tribute my Gemini Elves to Special Summon **Wingweaver (2750/2400)**." Feathers began drifting up from the ground, forming into a six-winged angel in a golden robe. She descended down, wings flared to the side. "Of course, Tribute Doll prevents Wingweaver from attacking this turn. But I am not yet done. Next, I summon **Luster Dragon** **(1900/1600) **and then activate my Trap Card **Call of the Haunted **to return my **Gemini Elf (1900/900) **to the field." To the left of Wingweaver rose the two increasingly familiar elven ladies. They laughed as they returned, blowing a kiss towards Adam. To Wingweaver's right, there rose a large blue dragon, its scales shimmering like jewels.

"Luster Dragon, attack his Zombie Master!" Adam flinched again as the dragon breathed a stream of rock crystals through his monster. (Adam: 3800 - 3700)

"And Gemini Elf, destroy his Pyramid Turtle," Banner ordered. The two elves shot forward again, once more ripping the turtle to pieces (Adam: 3700 - 3000).

"My Turtle's effect activates once more," Adam said, pulling out his deck and searching it. "I shall call forth my **Double Coston (1700/1650)** in Defense mode." Two grey spirits emerged, twisting around each other in the air. They giggled at the field, looking towards the array of dangerous monsters across from them.

"I'm interested to see where you go from here. I end my turn," Professor Banner said. Adam looked up into the crowd. His sister was leaning forward, watching him intently. She frowned heavily, glancing back and forth between Adam's largely empty field and the Professor's well populated one.

Adam placed a hand on his deck and closed his eyes. This was it. He wasn't going to get another shot at this. He needed to win the game _now_. He could feel his Duel Spirit thrumming in his hand, ready to be unleashed. He drew the card and examined it. He grinned.

"Professor Banner, I'd like to thank you for proctoring this exam. But should I have my way, this will be the final turn!" Adam said. "I activate the Field Spell Card **Zombie World**!" He slapped the card into the slot. Immediately deep blue began to emanate from him. The ground became covered in decaying and rotting corpses. Someone in the audience gasped audibly. He heard his sister laughing as he played the card. Knowing her, she probably had an idea of what was going to happen.

Time to prove her right.

"The dark magic of this card warps the very world itself, changing all creatures that walk it into Zombies!" As he spoke, Gemini Elf, Luster Dragon, and Wingweaver began to rot and decay. Pieces of their bodies sloughed off, exposing muscle and bone beneath.

"Then, I shall activate **Pot of Greed!** This allows me to draw two more cards. And now, I use my facedown **Call of the Haunted** in order to bring forth a true monster! Witness as your fate is sealed! Be birthed from nightmares and haunt all who oppose me! **Despair From the Dark (2800/3000)**!" The ground cracked, orange light spilling out. It erupted into a ghastly demonic form which roared in triumph.

"When did you..? Ah, with your Zombie Master! Of course," Banner said, nodding along with enthusiasm.

"Yes. Speaking of whom, I activate **Monster Reborn**, which returns **Zombie Master (1800/0)** to us once again." The skeletal woman surged from the ground, her cold cackling filling the air as she landed next to the demonic Despair From the Dark.

"An impressive field presence. But not enough to destroy my monsters," Professor Banner said.

"Agreed. But that's what _this _monster's for," Adam said. "I Tribute my Double Coston! And because I am using them to summon a Dark Attribute monster, they count as _two _tributes! Which allows me to summon my ultimate monster!" The ceiling darkened as swirling mist gathered in the air. Two glowing red dots appeared in the depths of it. "Rise from the grave and bring fear to the hearts of my enemies! Take your rightful place as the ruler of the dead! Come forth! **Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon! (2400/2000)**" Adam bellowed.

With a shriek, the decaying dragon descended on the field, landing with an audible crash. It roared, the sound echoing across the entire stadium. In the audience, someone screamed. He could hear his sister's two Spirits calling for the dragon's attention. The dragon glanced back towards Adam and gave a nearly imperceptible nod. This was his Duel Spirit. His companion. His second best friend. Adam nodded back.

"Now I'll use the power of my Zombie Master once again! And by discarding a monster, she can call forth more lost souls to do my bidding! Return to us, **Double Coston (1700/1650) **in Attack Position!" Once again, the two spirits appeared, this time alongside an array of powerful creatures.

"Now is the time for battle and for the dead to claim this world from the living! Despair From the Dark, attack and destroy his Wingweaver! Nightmare Stream!" Adam said. The gaseous orange demon reared it's head back and unleash a stream of screaming faces that blasted apart the six-winged angel. (Banner: 4000 - 3950)

"Well done. But how will you get past my remaining monsters, I wonder?" The Professor said, smiling widely.

"Like this! Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon! Destroy his Gemini Elf with Necro Blast Attack!" Adam ordered. His Duel Spirit shrieked in response, spitting a ball of sickly black energy at the Elf, obliterating it. (Banner: 3950 - 3450)

"Now, the effect of my Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon can activate. Whenever it destroys an opponent's Zombie monster, I can special summon it to my side of the field," Adam said as Gemini Elf broke from the ground next to him. Both elves had visibly had their necks broken, their skin rotten and crackling with black energy.

"Your elves proved quite formidable. Let us see how you fare against them! Gemini Elf, attack Luster Dragon!" Adam ordered. His stolen monster lunged forward, clashing with the crystalline dragon. "And because both have 1900 Attack points, both are destroyed."

"YEAH! THAT'S HOW YOU DUEL!" His sister shouted from the stands. She immediately sat back down, looking embarrassed. Adam laughed and shook his head. She _really _needed to relax more.

"And that leaves me wide open. Very good!" Banner said with his perpetual smile.

"Indeed. Zombie Master, Double Coston, finish this duel!" Adam ordered. His monsters rushed forward, ripping past Banner and dropping his life points to zero.

"Very well done," Banner said. "Congratulations on passing your exam. And welcome to Duel Academy."

Adam disabled his Duel Disk, putting his cards back into his deck. He bowed. "Thank you, Professor. You've done me a great service in dueling as well as you did."

As he headed out of the arena, he stole a glance up at his sister. He flashed her a thumbs up and she stood up, heading from her seat. The two met in the hallway, heading out from the arena.

"How'd you do?" Adam asked.

"Didn't even touch me," Harriet said with a smirk. "Not that you'd know what that's like."

"You've been in the same position, if you'll recall," Adam taunted back. They grinned and then hugged each other tightly.

"We're in," Harriet whispered in disbelief. "I can't believe it. We're in."

"Yeah. We did it. We made it," Adam whispered back. "Ready for a great three years?"

Harriet pulled back slightly. "Hell yeah."


	3. Chapter 3: Harriet vs Adam, Round 1

(Author's Note: I should have mentioned this, but didn't. This begins a year before GX Canon begins. Meaning Zane is in his second year and the Abandoned Dorm incident hasn't happened yet. Something to keep in mind as things keep going on.)

Harriet Hartfield was _not _having a good time. Yes, she'd beaten Professor Oda and gotten into Duel Academy, and sure, her brother had beaten that skinny Professor and gotten in as well, but nobody had told her they were going to be getting to Duel Academy by _helicopter_. "I hate this. I hate this, why did I agree to this?" she muttered to herself, staring at the seat in front of her. In the window seat, Adam snorted.

"As I recall, going to Duel Academy was _your _idea. Something about us becoming the best tag-team since the Paradox Brothers?" he said.

"Oh, shut up. The only reason you're not freaking out is because your Spirit is a dragon and he can catch you if this hunk of metal fails and we fall and die," Harriet hissed, rubbing her temples. "And we're a _terrible _tag-team, our decks don't synergize at all."

"I suppose that's true. What with all of your cards being so disgustingly alive," Adam said, wrinkling his nose.

"Hey, just because they have a heartbeat doesn't mean you should hate them. At least they don't start rotting as soon as they hit the field."

"Excuse me? My lovely undead children do not rot. How dare you," Adam said, putting his hand to his chest in mock offense. He glanced out the window and then back at his pale sister. She was starting to pick at her fingernails, still looking anywhere but out the window. "We've still got an hour to go. How about a duel to pass the time?" Adam asked, pulling out his deck.

"Yes, please, anything to distract me" Harriet said, grabbing her deck. They twisted on their sides to face each other, using the trays to places the cards. They were familiar with each other's decks and playing styles. After the first game, they started talking as they dueled. "So, what do you think of our Professors so far?" she asked as she mimed for her Mythical Beast Cerberus to attack.

"I only met Professor Banner. He seems a little odd, but otherwise alright. Didn't much care for that Doctor Crowler," Adam said as he sent his Pyramid Turtle to the Graveyard and special summoned Malevolent Mech-Goku En.

"Did you hear that he cut like half the applicants? Didn't even give them a chance to apply," Harriet said while placing two facedowns.

"Good thing we got there early then. Who did you duel? I didn't get the chance to see."

"Oh, Professor Oda. Not sure what she teaches, but she was nice. Even talked about how ridiculous the game could get. Had fun with it, you know?"

"No, I know nothing about having fun," Adam said, raising an eyebrow to indicate sarcasm.

"I noticed. You're too busy being evil and a little creepy to have fun," Harriet said as Adam indicated wiping out her remaining Life Points.

"Excuse me, I am a _lot _creepy, thank you very much. I wear black. It's the spookiest of colors," Adam said. The corner of his lip twitched up. The two shuffled their decks and set themselves up again.

"Oh, yes. Forgive me, great lord of darkness," Harriet said, giving a mock bow. The two began openly snickering at each other.

"You're ridiculous," Adam said.

"No, you," Harriet said.

"Such wit! Such repartee! How am I to compete!" Adam said melodramatically, putting a hand to his chest.

"Don't. Give up and let me win," she said lightly.

"But where's the fun in that, dear sister?" Adam asked, raising an eyebrow and smirking.

The PA system dinged. "Attention new students. If you look out the window, you'll see that we are now approaching your home away from home, Academy Island."

"Or we can _not _look out the window and be reminded that we're nowhere near the ground," Harriet muttered. She glanced out the window despite herself and startled at the sight. An enormous, milky red eye stared through the window back at her. "Your Spirit's flying with us," she muttered.

Adam glanced out the window to see Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon was, indeed, flying next to the helicopter. He smiled and waved at it. "Hello, friend. We'll be landing soon. So feel free to get nice and compact again." The Zombie Dragon bobbed it's head in a nod and flew up higher, clearing their view.

Even from this distance, the main building of Duel Academy was easily visible. The three colored roofs against stark white were eye-popping, as was the smoking mountain behind it. "Did you know that the volcano provides geothermal energy for the island? The tech's experimental, so it only works when it's releasing small amounts of smoke continuously," Harriet said. "So the volcano's not about to erupt or anything, in case you were worried."

"I wasn't but that's good to know," Adam said. He eyed his sister suspiciously. "How do you know that?"

"KaibaCorp published an article on the Academy. It goes pretty in-depth. Fascinating to read," Harriet said eagerly.

"…was it? Or are you a nerd?" Adam asked, smirking at her again.

"How dare you. I'm a _geek_, not a nerd, get it right, you emo," she said.

"How dare _you_. I'm a _goth_, not an emo. Get it right, you dork." The two continued to bicker quietly as they made their way off the helicopter and to the main auditorium. The room was large enough to hold the entire freshman class, with a vaulted ceiling. It had been divided into four sections, one for each of the dorms. The two stopped.

"I guess this is where we part ways," Adam said quietly.

"For now, at least. But…yeah," Harriet muttered. She glanced up at him and smiled. "What dorm did you get?"

"Ra Yellow. You?"

"You know there's only one girl dorm," Harriet said flatly.

"Oh. Right." The two continued to stare and the splitting up crowd. Adam turned to glance at her. "See you around?"

"Right after we move in. We'll need to break in the new tech and the new clothes," Harriet said. She took several steps away from her twin. Then, she closed her eyes, took a steadying breath, and started walking quickly towards the girl's dorm table.

To them, the assembly was a blur. Neither paid much attention as Chancellor Shepard welcomed the new students, playing a prerecorded speech about how pleased he was to have them there and how great they would be. Moving in was a blur as well. They moved as quickly and efficiently as they could before getting changed into their brand-new blazers. As soon as Harriet was finished, she'd texted Adam which dueling field to meet her at. She made her way there quickly, knowing they didn't have a huge amount of time before the introductory dinners started.

She stepped into the arena to the sound of an argument.

"…told you, this is an _Obelisk _arena. No Ra's allowed!" another boy was saying. Harriet looked up and spotted Adam immediately. Two boys, both larger than him, dressed in deep blue coats, had gotten uncomfortably close to him. She could see the way Adam had tensed, a very slight grimace on his lips.

"And as I told you, I am meeting my sister her," Adam said. He glanced between both of the Obelisk Blue members. "Of course, you could duel me," he offered.

"Wow, Adam. Selling out already?" Harriet said. She stepped between the Obelisk Blue boys, shoving them apart. "What happened to me beating you first?"

"Assuming you can, Harry," Adam said, visibly relaxing upon seeing his sister. The boys both looked down at Harriet.

"Hey, what're you doing? We've got this guy handled," one of the guys said, folding his arms. Harriet gave him a solid side-eye.

"Okay, first of all? This is the _literal _first day. You have no idea who he is and you have no idea who I am. So here's an idea: sit back and watch us duel. Then see if you wanna keep messing with him. Okay?" Harriet said in her best stern voice. The boys looked at each other.

"That sounds like a _great _idea," another voice said. Professor Oda stood in the doorway of the arena, her arms folded and glaring at the Obelisk Blues. "I'll even make it the inaugural duel of the Academy. It'll be all official. Sound good?"

"I like the sound of that," Adam said with a nod to her.

"Alright then. Duelists, to your places. And audience, to the stands," Oda said, jerking her thumb to spur the Blues to movement.

Adam and Harriet moved to opposite sides of the arena before turning to face each other. They locked eyes. Harriet grinned. Adam smirked. "_Let's Duel!_"

"I believe since you won our last game, I get to go first," Adam said as he drew his hand. "I'll begin with your _favorite _of my strategies by summoning **Goblin Zombie (1100/1050) **to the field in Attack Mode!" A small, chittering black shaped appeared. Golden bones covered the creature as it lifted it's head to look towards Harriet.

"Is this the Ecto-Gobo Wombo Combo?" Harriet asked.

"You tell me, dear sister. I activate the Permanent Spell Card **Ectoplasmer**!" Adam said as he played the card.

"It is the Ecto-Gobo Wombo Combo!" Harriet said. "Boo! I hate this one!"

Adam threw his head back and laughed, a deep and malevolent sound. "I play one card facedown. Then, I end my turn, thus activating the effect of my Ectoplasmer! I'm forced to Tribute a face-up monster on my side of the field and inflict damage to you equal to half of it's attack points!" Greenish energy poured out from Goblin Zombie and it shot across the field. Harriet flinched, covering her face as the light passed around her. **(Harriet: 4000 - 3450) **"And, because Goblin Zombie was sent to my Graveyard from my field, I get to add a Zombie with 1200 or fewer Defense points to my hand. I think I'll choose **Zombie Master**."

"You idiot! You left yourself wide open!" one of the Obelisk Blues taunted.

"And forced me on the defensive if I want to keep any monster in play," Harriet said, turning to look at the Blue who had spoken.

"Huh? How'd he do that?" The Blue asked.

"Ectoplasmer forces _both _players to sacrifice face-up monsters during their End Phase." Harriet turned back to Adam. "Of course, the keywords there are 'face-up'. So I'll start by activating **Pot of Greed!**"

"What does that do?" one of the Obelisks asked.

"…you're joking, right? It lets me draw two cards," Harriet said as she picked up the cards. "Then I'll set a monster face-down in Defense Mode and another card face-down. That'll do it for my turn. And with no face-up monsters to sacrifice, Ectoplasmer fails to activate for me." She stuck her tongue out at her brother.

"Your maturity is limitless. I draw and then summon **Zombie Master (1800/0)**!" Adam said as he played the skeletal necromancer once again. "Now I'm willing to bet that you either have a Magic Cylinder face-down or that's your Royal Magical Library. But I can bypass that with Ectoplasmer and my Zombie Master's ability! I discard a monster from my hand and Special Summon **Goblin Zombie** back to my field."

Zombie Master's hands reached down, into the floor. She pulled up, dragging the small goblin back from the Graveyard. She set it down next to her and gave it a pat on the head. "But let's not get too attached to him. Because I end my turn to activate **Ectoplasmer**! Now, he's once again reduced to goo and he once again strikes your Life Points! **(Harry: 3450 - 2900) **But we're not done yet. Because Goblin Zombie's effect activates once more. And this time, I'll add a second Goblin Zombie to my hand."

Harriet stared at her brother for several seconds. "You know, some restriction cards would really help this strategy. Like Nightmare Steelcage or something."

Adam relaxed again. "I know. But that would also interfere with my other stratagems."

"True, true. Anyway, it's my turn. I draw!" Harriet said. She pulled out the card and examined it. She smirked. "Alright. Let's start by Flip-Summoning my facedown monster. Say hello to **Magician of Faith (300/400)!**" As she flipped the monster over, a woman appeared, clutching a crescent moon staff. Her head was bowed slightly but she looked up after a moment.

"When she's Flip Summoned, I get to add a Spell Card from my Graveyard to my hand. So I get my **Pot of Greed **back! And I'm gonna play it again!" she said as she played the spell and drew two more cards.

"That's some good card advantage," Professor Oda muttered. "I should probably be making you boys take notes." The Obelisk Blue Boys huffed in unison, looking down.

"Alright, bro. You wanna see burn damage? You're gonna get burn damage! I summon **Rapid-Fire Magician (1600/1200) **to the Field in Attack Mode!" Harriet said. A magician in black robes appeared on the field, long violet hair flowing behind him. He pointed his staff towards Adam.

"Now I'll be activating **Lightning Vortex! **By discarding a card in my hand, this Spell card destroys every face-up monster on your side of the field. Such as your Zombie Master!" Lightning lanced out from the card and the skeletal girl disappeared with a shriek. Adam hissed and winced.

"And because I activated a Normal Spell Card, Rapid-Fire Magician deals you 400 points of direct damage!" The magician in question pointed his staff. Several glowing balls orbited it for a moment before firing off. They slammed into Adam, causing him to let out a low growl. **(4000 - 3600) **"But we're not done yet! Because I activate the Spell Card **Magical Blast!**"

"Oh, of course you do!" Adam said with a scowl. "200 points of damage for each Spellcaster you control _and _400 points of damage from your Rapid-Fire Magician. You've taken me out with that card too many times!" The Rapid-Fire Magician and the Magician of Faith pointed their staves in unison. A massive ball of purple energy fired out, enveloping Adam, followed by another barrage from the Rapid-Fire Magician. **(3600 - 2800)**

"Yeah, but we're not done here yet! Rapid-Fire Magician, attack Adam directly!"

"Directly into my trap! I activate **Call of the Haunted!** This allows me to special summon my **Zombie Master **back to the field to defend me!" Adam said. The card flipped up. Purplish smoke emanated from it, coalescing into the form of Zombie Master once again.

"Oh, I get it. That protects his life points _and _lets him use his Zombie Master again next turn," one of the Obelisk Blue Boys said, pounding his fist into his palm.

"Yes, very good. You got the basics of it," Oda said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Now let's see what he does with it."

"Well, I'll cancel my attack and end my turn," Harriet said.

"Which triggers my Ectoplasmer! So, who are you sacrificing to damage me, dear sister?" Adam asked.

"Magician of Faith, this time." She winced as the Magician turned into green smoke and slammed into her brother. "Sorry. Didn't have much of a choice," she muttered. **(Adam: 2800 - 2650) **

"It's my turn," Adam said as he drew a card. He examined it and grinned. "I think it's time to add a new friend to our little game. Come forth, **Pyramid Turtle (1200/1400).**" The stone turtle rose from the ground, sand spilling off of it. It moaned and took a lurching step forward. "Then, it's time to activate my Zombie Master's effect! I discard the Goblin Zombie from my hand to Special Summon the Goblin Zombie in my Graveyard." Once again, the Zombie Master dragged the Goblin Zombie back up from the ground.

"Now, we begin the march of the undead! Zombie Master, attack Harriet's Rapid-Fire Magician!" Zombie Master lunged forward, stabbing her hands at the Magician. Purple lightning lanced out, causing the spellcaster to burst into fragments and for Harriet to hiss. **(2900 - 2700) **

"Pyramid Turtle, attack my sister directly!" Adam ordered.

"That'll be a no, thanks! I activate **Magic Cylinder**! This redirects all the damage from your Turtle's annoyingly slow stampede right back at you!" Harriet said. Two large cylinders popped into existence. Pyramid Turtle vanished into one of them only to come charging out of the other, trampling Adam. **(2650 - 1250)** He lay on the ground for several seconds.

"The worst part is, I knew you were hiding that," Adam said with a cough before getting back up. "But now Goblin Zombie gets to take a shot at you! Go, my little pest! Attack her Life Points directly!" The Goblin dashed forward, slashing at Harriet's ankles. She let out a little shriek and kicked the thing back. **(2700 - 1600) **"And when Goblin Zombie deals combat damage to a player, that player discards the top card of their deck," Adam said as Harriet moved the top card to her Graveyard.

"And at the end of my turn, I'll place one card face-down. And then Ectoplasmer activates. Once again, I'll Tribute my Goblin Zombie, to take another bite out of your life points! **(1600 - 1050) **And of course, I get to add another Zombie to my hand. This time I'll go with…Nightmare Horse. The clock's ticking, Harry. Better come up with something good, or you'll be out of luck," Adam said, grinning at his sister.

"Yeah, well, I'm not through yet!" Harriet said as she drew a card.

"Beat him!" one of the Obelisk Blues called.

"Beat the Yellow-belly loser!" the other shouted.

Adam's flinch was subtle but not imperceptible. Especially not to the girl who'd grown up with him. Harriet pivoted on her heel to glare at the two of them. "Hey! Stop disrespecting my brother!" she snapped.

"Harriet, it's fine," Adam said.

"No, it's not! You've been kicking my ass with a sweet strategy and these idiots are calling you a loser for it! It's not okay!" Harriet snapped. "The only reason I've done so well is I grew up dueling you! You'd've tied almost anyone else in knots with this combo. And it's not even your best one! You'll win next turn if I'm not careful, and I don't want to hear these idiots talk down to you!"

"Harriet, I appreciate your sentiment. But hurry up and beat me," Adam said with a manufactured calm. "You wouldn't be this defensive about it if you weren't about to win. So just do it."

"Fine. I draw," Harriet said. "I activate **Monster Reborn** to Special Summon **Cybernetic Magician (2400/1000)** in Attack Mode." The Spell Card glows for a moment and then a man dressed all in white with silver running over his skin manifested. He clutched a silvery scepter in his hand, which he twirled as he appeared.

"Wait, when did that get into her Graveyard?" One of the boys asked.

"When she played Lightning Vortex. She discarded a card, remember? She's been setting this up," Oda said, scowling at the boy.

"Yeah. I have been. It's a trick I learned from Adam. One of his best ones," Harriet admitted.

"Which is why I know to look out for it. Iactivate **Compulsory Evacuation Device**!" Adam said. As the trap flipped face up.

"YOU WHAT?!" Harriet shrieked.

"This returns a target monster to the hand. Such as, say, your Cybernetic Magician," Adam said as the floor beneath the Cybernetic Magician began to glow red. There was a rush of air as the Cybernetic Magician was launched into the air, vanishing into light.

Harriet blinked at her brother.

Adam smiled innocently at her.

"YOU SNAKE! I GO THROUGH ALL THE TROUBLE OF DEFENDING YOU AND THIS IS THE THANKS I GET?!" she shouted, shaking her fist at him. "Fine! That does it! No more Cool Big Sis! I set a monster face-down and set a card face down and end my turn!"

Adam shook with barely suppressed laughter before throwing his head back to let out a truly malevolent chuckle. "Alright! Here it is! At long last! I draw!" He smirked. "I activate the effect of my Zombie Master! By discarding a card, I special summon a monster from my Graveyard! I choose **Double Coston (1700/1650)**!" A pair of grey spirits burst from the ground, twining through the air before settling next to Zombie Master.

"Oh, you little brat," Harriet said, her eyes narrowing.

"I tribute my Double Coston! And because I'm using it to summon a Dark-Attribute monster, it counts as two tributes! This allows me to summon the most powerful monster in my Deck, **Despair from the Dark** **(2800/3000)**!" The two ghosts vanished in a puff, coalescing into a titanic beast of orange energy. It's hands slammed into the ground, cracking it before letting out an earsplitting roar.

"WHAT IS THAT?!" One of the Obelisk Blue boys shouted as he cowered behind Professor Oda. The Professor's eyes lit up.

"Oh! You used this in your duel against Banner, didn't you? It's a good card. Great beatstick," she said.

"Thank you Professor," Adam said with a slight bow. "Now. I. End. My. Turn."

Harriet's shoulders slumped. "Aw, crumbs. I was hoping you'd attack."

"No need. I use Ectoplasmer to tribute my Despair from the Dark. Thus inflicting 1400 points of damage directly to you!" Adam said as the huge creature in question vanished into green smoke. It went surging out, wrapping around his sister. Even though she knew it was a hologram, Harriet screamed. She pretended to choke on air and fell to the ground dramatically.

She popped back up a moment later. "You know, if you had attacked I would've used this Magical Dimension I had facedown," she said as she walked towards her brother.

"Why didn't you use it earlier? You could've thwarted my whole final turn with it."

"Eh, it was a misplay," she said with a shrug. "I'll get you next time."

"Now _that_ was a good way to start off the year," Oda said as she approached the two. "I'm pretty sure you're both late to your introduction dinners, but if you run it won't be by much."

Adam and Harriet both hesitated, then looked at each other. "Right. New people," Adam muttered.

"New friends, too," Harriet said, before smiling at him. "Go. Have fun. Meet people."

"Right. You too," Adam said with a smile before turning and racing down the hallway. The two Obelisk Blue boys left, muttering to each other, trying to figure out what had just happened.

"Hey, Harriet," Oda called, catching up with the young woman easily. "You didn't actually misplay that Magical Dimension, did you?"

Harriet froze and turned to look at her professor. "Maybe I did. Maybe I didn't. It's not our place to say. And you probably shouldn't worry about it." She began walking away at a much quicker pace. Oda considered her words a smiled.

"You're a good kid, Harriet. Let's see how well you do once you meet your peers," she muttered.

(Author's Note: Wow. That was a long duel. They won't all be that long, but I wanted to demonstrate how evenly matched Harriet and Adam are before we start meeting other people. Because there are gonna be some _other _people. It'll be fun! Promise. Or at least I'll have fun. I don't know what you guys will have.)


	4. Chapter 4: Harriet vs Social Anxiety

Harriet mulled over what had happened at the arena on her way to the Girl's Dorm. She'd heard that Duel Academy could get hierarchical, but something like that on day one? It was ridiculous! Sure, elitism was a thing, but she and Adam had barely gotten through the door. It seemed absurd that they'd be starting off the year like that.

She ducked into the dorm and her train of thought was immediately derailed. This wasn't a dinner, this was a _gala_. There were several dozen girls here, all in uniform, milling around a large buffet table. Several smaller tables were off to the side, with people clustered around them. Harriet looked around, taking it all in.

The internal screaming began immediately.

Who thought this many people was a good idea?! Where did they all even come from? Did she really have to meet all these people? Oh god, what was she going to do? Should she put makeup on? No, she shouldn't, Adam wasn't here to help her with it. And she didn't have time anyway! She'd already walked in the front door late and now everyone was looking at her!

_Oh god everyone was looking at her, what was she supposed to do. _

"There you are!" a woman called out, stepping out from the crowd and towards Harriet. Her eyes were grey and lively and went well with her long brown hair. "We've been waiting for you! I'm Fonda Fontaine. I'm the head of the girl's dorm!"

"N-Nice to meet you, Miss Fontaine! I'm Harriet Hartfield," Harriet said, bowing slightly.

She heard snickering from the crowd. Harriet flushed. "Sorry I'm late, I was…"

"Let me guess. You were dueling someone?" Fonda Fontaine asked with a wink.

"Well, I mean…yeah," Harriet said, straightening back up. "That's what we're here for, isn't it?"

"It is! But come on in, get some food, get settled. Meet some people. We all shared our names, where we're from, and what our favorite card is," Miss Fontaine said as she led Harriet into the party. Everyone else seemed to be turning back to their own business, though some sent scornful glances Harriet's way.

"Oh. Sorry I missed it," Harriet said, trying to be polite despite lying through her teeth.

"Don't worry, you didn't miss the main icebreaker," Miss Fontaine said.

"Really? What's that going to be?"

"The Annual Queen of Obelisk Blue Tournament, of course! The qualifying rounds start tomorrow," Miss Fontaine said. Harriet blinked and lurched forward.

"Wait, seriously? Am I gonna get to watch?" Harriet asked, excitement mounting in her voice. "Better yet, do I get to duel? Please say yes, I want to duel people."

"Of course you're going to get to duel! With your entrance exam score, you qualified just about instantly. But that's tomorrow. We've got more important stuff happening tonight. Like meeting your neighbors!" Miss Fontaine said.

The internal screaming intensified.

"Like…right over there, in the corner! I think she lives next to you," Miss Fontaine said, pointing to a girl standing off to the side. The girl's hair was cut short, but swept up into a faux-hawk. She folded her arms, glaring at the entire room. Her eyes settled on Harriet and she softened slightly, offering a half-hearted wave.

Harriet immediately headed over to her and stuck out her hand. "Hi! I'm Harriet," she said.

"Kendra," the other girl said, shaking Harriet's hand carefully.

"Nice to meet you," Harriet said, taking her hand back.

"…same, I guess?" Kendra said. They stared at each other for a moment before looking away.

"So…dueling, huh?" Harriet said. They looked back at each other and Harriet snickered. "Sorry, that was kind of a lame way to try and start a conversation. But, uh…"

"Favorite Pro-Duelist of all time?" Kendra asked, eyes narrowing. Sensing a shift from the other girl, Harriet straightened up.

"Rebecca Hawkins."

Kendra blinked for a moment and then leaned forward. "Sorry, who?"

"Rebecca Hawkins, youngest ever United States Champion. Dueled in the Kaiba Corps Grand Prix, lost in the semi-finals, retired from dueling a few years later. Used an Anti-Cure Deck, with Gem Dragon support," Harriet said.

"Wait. Wasn't she, like, eight?"

"That was when she won the Junior Nationals in the US. She became the proper US Champ two years ago. Still holds the title, if memory serves," Harriet said. "What about you? Favorite duelist?"

"Mai Valentine," Kendra said with a small smile. "She…"

"Placed third in the Duelist Kingdom tournament and sixth in the Battle City Tournament. Won multiple other smaller tournaments before dropping out of the dueling scene just before the Orichalcos Crisis. Never made a comeback despite her status as one of the best women duelists of all time," Harriet said.

"You…know her?" Kendra asked, sounding shocked.

"Yeah! She was a fighter! And a good one at that. I have a recording of her duel with Jean-Claude Magnum. Its fun to watch that chauvinist jerk get his face stomped," Harriet said, nodding eagerly.

"I know! Mai was incredible! I use Amazoness monsters, like she did. I know she's more famous for Harpies, but they're…"

"They can be a little fragile. Amazoness packs a bigger punch, right?"

"Exactly. Also I like their look more, you know?"

"I get that. My brother likes to joke that I only have Cybernetic Magician because I think he's cute," Harriet said.

"You have a brother?"

"Yeah, Adam. He's in Ra Yellow."

"Oh, he older than you?"

"Nope. Younger. By only like a minute though," Harriet said with a shrug.

"Oh, you're twins! Okay. That makes sense," Kendra said, nodding. Harriet moved to lean up against the wall next to Kendra. Both of them looked out at the crowd.

"So. You got here before I did. What'd I miss?" Harriet asked.

"Eh, not much. Did introductions, everyone talked about what kinda deck they use, that kinda thing," Kendra said with a small shrug.

"Oh. I use Spell Counters, by the way," Harriet said.

"Cool. Never played against them."

"Well, maybe we'll duel in this Queen of Obelisk Blue tournament thing."

Kendra snorted. "Maybe. Or we could just go outside and have ourselves a friendly game right now."

"Are we allowed to do that? Because I feel like we're supposed to be meeting more people," Harriet said, eyebrows furrowed in concern.

Kendra pushed herself off the wall. "HEY, PROF!" she shouted. Fontaine turned away from several older girls to look towards them.

"Yes Kendra, what is it?" she asked.

"Harry and I want to duel," Kendra said.

Fontaine frowned, considering the suggestion. "I see. It's getting late though, and duels can take a while."

"Besides, who needs to see what the wallflowers do? The real star's right here?" a girl said, dragging Harriet's attention to her. The girl was, by every definition of the word, pretty. Flowing blond hair, perfectly done makeup, and piercing green eyes turned in Harriet's direction. Around her were other girls, with similarly done hair and makeup, all of whom were eyeing Harriet scornfully.

Harriet cocked her head and then looked at Kendra. "Who's that?" she asked.

The pretty girl gasped in shock. Her groupies began tittering anxiously.

"I think her name's Jessie? I wasn't paying attention when she was talking," Kendra said with a shrug.

"How dare you!" Jessica said, scowling towards them. "Don't you dare look down on me! I'm going to be Queen of Obelisk Blue." Jessica's groupies nodded in agreement, muttering to themselves.

Harriet cocked her head the other way. "But, wait, you'd have to win the tournament."

"And I will! I'm going to be the greatest duelist this Academy's ever seen!" Jessica said, gesturing dramatically.

"She got the third highest score on the entrance exam!" one of the groupies said.

"Yeah! And she was top of our class in Duelist Prep School!" another said.

"Ah, preppies. That explains it," Kendra muttered.

"Some no name newcomer with no background doesn't have a place here at Duel Academy," Jessica said, sneering towards Harriet.

"Want me to prove you wrong?" Harriet asked. She raised her arm with the duel disk on it, ready to activate it. Kendra raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"As if you could. You can't even make it to a dinner on time," Jessica said, flipping her hair back.

"You're right. I was too busy dueling. I didn't have time to come listen to you inflate your own ego," Harriet said. "Of course, I'd be happy to _de_flate that for you."

"Girls, girls! That's enough," Fontaine said. "It'll all get sorted out in the tournament, don't worry."

Jessica looked away with a huff, turning back to her groupies. Harriet slumped against the wall next to Kendra. The other girl smirked at her. "Gotta say, that was pretty cool."

"Thanks. Got used to riling up people like her in middle school. It was fun to have them challenge me to a duel and then beat them," Harriet said with a shrug.

"Huh," Kendra muttered. She looked over at Harriet and grinned. "You're pretty okay, Harry."

"Oh. Thanks, you're pretty cool too," Harriet said, blinking in surprise.

"Let's split. We can duel without the disks," Kendra said, turning and heading away.

"Oh! Yeah, wait up!" Harriet said, following her new friend away from the party and leaving Jessica seething at their retreating backs.

(Author's Notes: My god, I wrote a chapter without a card game! Also, I didn't know Kendra was going to be using Amazons until I started writing her. So now I have to figure out how _those _work. Ah, well. I'll figure it out. Next up will be Adam meeting the boys over in Ra Yellow! Again, probably no dueling. Can't have card games all the time.)


	5. Chapter 5: Adam vs Hormones

For a teenager his age, Adam knew a lot about himself. Having a zombie dragon to talk to had helped with that, even if the Spirit couldn't talk back. His close relationship with his sister helped too. The late nights they'd spent dueling on the floor had led to many personal insights. He'd learned he was a pretty good duelist, if not always predictable. He'd learned to embrace the creepiness of his favorite zombies because using them felt _right_. But at the moment, those weren't as important.

What was important was a discovery he'd made two years ago. He'd shared it with his sister, of course, but no one else. He didn't know who he could trust with the knowledge. So he'd hidden it, buried it beneath the macabre and the makeup. But now, on the first day of Duel Academy, as he sat in Ra Yellow's cafeteria meeting the boys in his dorm, he knew it would be a problem.

Because there was no way he could handle this many cute and hot boys so close by. It would surely be more than his dead, shriveled, gay heart could take. Of course, seeing a boy wearing full makeup with lipstick, nail polish, and a skull necklace kept most of his peers at a distance. He didn't mind. All the better to check them out when they weren't in his face.

He positioned himself in a corner, eyes raking back and forth. Most of his classmates kept their distance, which was fine. He liked having personal space. He listened in on some of them. Whenever the conversation turned to girls or dating, he'd tune them out. After the third or fourth time, he began to get annoyed. Not that he should've expected anything different. All of them were teenagers, after all.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone approaching. The other boy was slightly shorter than Adam, with spiky yellow hair. He wore his jacket open, showing a striped red and black shirt beneath. He sat down next to Adam and just…looked at him. Adam looked back.

"Cool lipstick," the other boy said.

"Thanks," Adam said. He furrowed his eyebrows. He was supposed to say something back, right? "Nice outfit. Very classy."

"You know we're all wearing a uniform, right?" the boy said.

"That's not what I…" Adam began. The boy began snickering.

"It's okay, I'm just messing with you."

"Oh. Okay. Why?" Adam asked.

The boy blinked at him. "Why what?"

"Why're you messing with me? What're you getting out of it?" Adam asked.

"You looked lonely."

Adam blinked. "Did I really…"

"Please, you're in a room with a bunch of people in it, all of them chatting. Meanwhile, you're tucked away in the corner, staring at people. So yeah. You looked lonely," the boy said. He offered a hand. "I'm Calvin, by the way. Calvin Derkins."

"Adam Hartfield," he said, shaking Tom's hand.

"Well there's a shock. Your hands aren't ice cold," Calvin said, smirking slightly.

"Alas, no. I only look like I'm dead," Adam said, sighing dramatically.

"Uh-huh. Okay," Calvin said. He settled back in his seat, watching the room with Adam. After a few moments of awkward silence, Adam sighed.

"Sorry. I'm bad at dealing with people," he said.

"You and everyone else on the planet," Calvin muttered. "What kind of deck do you use?"

Adam raised an eyebrow and looked over at him. "Sorry, can't tell you. I enjoy the look of surprise when my opponent figures it out too much."

Calvin looked over at him again, his eyes narrowed. "Is that right?"

"It is. Not knowing what you're up against is half the fun," Adam said, a small smirk on his lip. "Whoever can adapt and overcome more effectively will win. Its about strategy and improvisation, as much as it is about skill."

"Yeah, if you're playing to win," Calvin scoffed. It was Adam's turn to narrow his eyes, frowning slightly. "Listen, you got some real cool stories wrapped up in these cards and each game gets to be its own story. Like if one of the players has an 'Aliens' deck. They're clearly invading someone and your opponents monsters are trying to fight them off. Or you got Ancient Gear monsters. Giant mechanized soldiers, marching into battle to crush your enemies!"

Adam bit the inside of his lip as he thought about it. "How would you describe a zombie deck?"

"Depends on how they're being played. Swarming the field? Clearly the zombie apocalypse. One or two big monsters? Must be a necromancer's cured minions," Calvin said. He grinned at Adam. "Like I said, a lot you can do."

"So what happens if you get Zombies versus Aliens?" Adam asked, sitting forward.

"Then the Aliens just got to a dead world and were exploring it when _bam, _zombies. Now the Aliens have to wipe out the threat before the zombies spread."

"You're pretty good at that," Adam said. "The 'making up stories on the spot' thing."

"Thanks. I practice a lot. Mostly so I can be a good GM."

"You GM? What system?" Adam asked, perking up slightly.

"Millennium World. It's Yugi Moto's new game. I was actually in the beta testing for it. It's really good, I'm hoping to get a group for it here," Calvin said.

"I'd be interested, if you'd have me," Adam said.

"Sure! Sounds like fun. Know anyone else we could invite?"

"My sister. She's wanted to get into other types of games for awhile now, though I've never convinced her to try an RPG," Adam said.

"Your sister? She like you?"

"We have our similarities," Adam said. "Not in terms of decks or playstyles though. She wants to become a Tag Duelist with me."

"Tag Dueling's a pretty narrow field. Considering nobody wants to even try and beat the Paradox Brothers," Calvin said.

"The Paradox Brothers coast by on reputation alone at this point. Tag Dueling's never had true competitors in it. That's going to be Harriet and I," Adam said firmly.

"Sounds like a cool plan."

"What about you? What're you doing at Duel Academy?"

Calvin grinned. "What else? I'm gonna be a card designer. I've got a bunch of ideas, especially for more invaders. I'd call them…"

Adam tuned Calvin out slightly. He furrowed his eyebrows and reached out to his Duel Spirit. He felt Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon manifest in the air behind him, looking down at Calvin. Adam's frown deepened when Calvin didn't react. So, the other boy couldn't see Duel Spirits. He was just very creative.

Shame. He'd always wanted to meet another medium like his sister and himself. He dismissed the spirit and tuned back in.

"…which is why they'd all have flip-effects," the other boy was finishing.

"That all seems…doable," Adam said, trying to hide that he hadn't heard a word of what Calvin had just said.

"I definitely think so. And I had this other idea about…" The two continued on, with Calvin spewing forth card concepts for Adam to critique or compliment.

The two talked into the night, ignoring the rest of their fellow Ra Yellows in favor of discussing card design and quizzing each other on lore. It wasn't until Professor Sartyr interrupted them that they noticed how empty the room had gotten.

"Is it really that late?" Calvin asked.

"So it would seem. I enjoyed talking to you," Adam said. He offered a hand to Calvin. "We should do it again sometime."

"We're gonna be living in the same building for at _least _a year. We're gonna talk more," Calvin said flatly. He fist-bumped Adam's extended hand. "See you around though." He turned and walked away.

Adam began heading towards his own room. That had been nice, having someone to talk to who wasn't Harriet. Calvin was interesting. Clever, witty, if a little too lost in his own head. Not exactly bad to look at either, now that Adam was thinking about it.

No, bad Adam, that was a dangerous train of thought and he wasn't going to entertain it any longer. He could control his hormones. He'd be a good dormmate and not some pervert. Hopefully.

Adam reached his door just as his neighbor's was opening. The boy that stepped out was slightly taller than Adam, with long silvery hair pulled back into a ponytail. His eyes were a deep green and they narrowed upon seeing Adam. Not that Adam noticed. He was too distracted by what the other boy was wearing. Which was a towel. And nothing else.

"You," the other boy growled, glaring at Adam. Adam's eyes snapped up to the boy's face. "You're the one with the zombie dragon."

"…yes, I am. What of it?" Adam asked, stiffening. He did his best to lock eyes with the boy and not let his gaze wander. He didn't do a very good job.

"Great, I'm living next to a freak," the other boy muttered. Adam flinched. The other boy glared at Adam again. "Stop looking at me like that, you fa-"

Adam heard the last word but didn't register it. He refused to. He had not gotten into Duel Academy just to have that word thrown at him again. He clenched his hands into fists and glared at the other boy. "Hello. It was nice to meet you as well," he said, his voice carefully calm and flat. "Please do not call me that word."

"What? It's not like I'm _wrong_, am I?" the other boy snapped. Adam didn't dignify him with a response, turning and pushing his way into his new dorm room.

His dorm room. A new space, all for him. His brand new home away from home. He slid down to be seated on the floor. He pulled his knees to his chest. Leave it to _that word _to ruin it. To remind him that he was different. And no matter how much he tried to embrace that, to _be _different, it still hurt to have it thrown in his face.

"Welcome to Duel Academy, Adam," he muttered to himself. "Hope it gets better from here."

(Author's Note: So you guys know, I'm mostly writing this to get practice in writing character arcs [also because the Duels themselves are fun to write]. There's going to be romance and such later, but that may take some time. That said, I'm interested to know what you're here for. Please leave a review and let me know.)


	6. Chapter 6: Adam vs Professor Oda

Harriet Hartfield was having a good morning. She'd gotten to try out the dining hall, which had been lavish to the point of ridiculousness. Pikeru had woken her up early enough to get a lengthy shower. She'd even had time to practice a new opening with her deck. It was going to be a good day.

Classes were a blur. With how they were divided up, she only saw her brother sporadically. They were on their way out of Crowler's class when she managed to catch up with him. "Hey! How're your dorms?"

Adam gave her a tight smile. "They're good. A little packed, but good."

"Something wrong?" she asked as they headed down the hallway together.

"It's nothing," Adam said a little too quickly. He gave her what he thought was a reassuring smile. "I'm fine."

"I don't believe you, but okay," Harriet said. "Where you off to? Lunch?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Also lunch. And then Intro to Pro-Dueling."

"Oh, same. That's the one Professor Oda teaches, right?"

"Yeah! From what I've gleaned from upper classmen, she's pretty cool," Harriet said.

"I look forward to meeting her then," Adam said as the entered the school cafeteria. Adam tracked them down an empty table in the corner. He sat down while she went to get her food. On her way back, she saw a boy she didn't recognize sitting with Adam, chatting amicably.

"…don't get what Crowler's whole deal is. Like, how would we have gotten into Duel Academy if we didn't know what kinds of cards there are?" the boy was saying. Adam looked up at her and waved.

"Harry, this is Calvin. He's in my dorm," Adam said. Calvin blinked at having his train of thought interrupted but turned around, spotting Harriet for the first time.

"Oh, cool! Nice to meet you," Harriet said, setting her food down next to Adam's seat so she could shake Calvin's hand.

"Wow, you guys look nothing alike," Calvin blurted out. Harriet blinked a few times. Calvin did as well. "By which I mean hello, my name's Calvin, nice to meet you?"

"Nice to meet you too?" Harriet said. "Adam, go get food, I got the table."

Adam nodded and got up, heading to the lunch line, leaving Harriet and Calvin alone with each other. Both of them focused on their food not saying anything. Both of them startled when someone pulled out a chair and sat down with them.

"Oh! Hey Kendra," Harriet said.

"Hey." The other girl looked towards Calvin then at Harriet. "Who's he?"

"You could ask me. I'm right here," Calvin said.

"Okay. Who're you?" Kendra asked.

"I'm Calvin. Nice to meet you," Calvin said, beaming at her. "I like your haircut."

"Thanks," Kendra said, turning away. All three of them startled when Adam sat down beside Harriet. He looked at Kendra and just raised an eyebrow. Kendra shrugged.

"Hey."

"Hello," Adam said, drawing out the 'o' sound.

"Oh! Right. Adam, this is Kendra. I met her at the social thing, we almost dueled and we may have picked a fight with a mean girl," Harriet said.

"I leave you alone for a day and already you're challenging social hierarchies? Really?" Adam asked, a small smile on his face.

"Hey, she had it coming. And we didn't _actually _fight yet. We're getting there," Harriet said.

"Oh, so long as she had it coming. That makes it fine," Adam said, smile steadily growing.

"You have no idea! She's from a prep school and everything. I can't _wait _to wipe that smug look off her face. It's gonna be fantastic," Harriet said, beaming at her brother. He simply laughed.

"If you say so. How've you two found classes?" he asked, turning towards Kendra and Calvin.

"Crowler's a bore. I don't get why he's a teacher," Calvin said. "All he does is drone on and on and we didn't really learn anything anyway. Like, what're we going to be doing in that class? Nothing but Duel Puzzles? How do you even teach dueling technique?" Calvin said. They spent a good portion of the lunch period talking about Crowler's 'lesson' and debating whether or not he even had teaching credentials. They were interrupted by a loud clearing of the throat. All four of them looked over to see Professor Momoko Oda looking down at them with a raised eyebrow.

"As much as I love hearing students rag on one of my colleagues, I need to talk to Adam," the Professor said.

"Oh. Sure," Adam said, setting his empty tray on top of Harriet's.

"Great. Could you follow me please?" she said. She led Adam away, talking quietly with him.

"Did he do something wrong last night?" Harriet asked, her head snapping over to Calvin.

"Erm. No? Not that I saw? I heard some of the guys saying nasty things about him at breakfast, but…"

"What kinds of things?" Harriet asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Uh. T-They called him a…" Calvin mumbled something incoherent but Harriet understood. Her hands clenched into fists.

"Hey. No punching on day one," Kendra said, putting a hand on Harriet's shoulder to stop her from standing.

"I need their names and their faces. I need to know who I need to clobber," Harriet said.

"You're serious, aren't you? You'd actually punch them," Calvin said, staring at Harriet in open admiration. "I'll send them to you after class. We gotta go for now."

The trio headed to Professor Oda's class together. They found a crowd of students outside the door, staring at it in confusion. "But this is where it's scheduled to be," someone said, obviously baffled.

"Clearly there's been a typo," Jessica said loudly, over the crowd. "I can't believe this."

"Or you can read the note on the door that says class is in the West Arena," Harriet said flatly, pointing at the note over someone's shoulder.

"Oh," Jessica said, going red. "Well, what if that note's not for us, huh? What then?"

"It literally has our class's name and time on it," Harriet said.

Jessica leaned closer to the note. "I see. Very well then. I guess we're in the West Arena," Jessica said. She turned on her heel and headed in the right direction, the crowd parting for her.

"That her?" Calvin asked.

"That her," Kendra said with a nod.

"Wow. No wonder you don't like her," Calvin said, patting Harriet's shoulder. Harriet shook her head and followed the crowd to the arena.

Inside, they found Professor Oda standing in near total darkness, a spotlight illuminating her. "Everyone take a seat," she said, waiting as her students did so, filling up the bleachers. Once everyone was seated, she said "So you all know, we'll only use that classroom twice a week. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, we're going to be in here. Got it?"

There were a few murmurs from the class.

"If you don't got it, then write it down. Now. Intro to Pro-Dueling. I emailed all of you the syllabus. What're we doing here?"

Harriet's hand shot up. Professor Oda pointed to her. "This is a practical course that talks about the ins and outs of professional dueling. The introductory class will cover how Pro-Dueling works and get students used to what being in a Pro-Dueling situation feels like," she said.

"…did you memorize my syllabus?" Oda asked, folding her arms and staring up at Harriet.

"No?" Harriet said weakly.

"I may need you to, it'll help me remember what's on it," Oda said. "But yes! This class is about you guys learning how to duel in front of a crowd and what that entails! Now I believe in practical demonstrations, so I'm going to show you what most of this class entails. Lights up!" she ordered. All the lights in the arena snapped on, causing several people to shout and cover their eyes.

"To help me in this, I've enlisted one of your classmates. He's got a history in acting and he was nice enough to agree to help me," Professor Oda said, gesturing towards the other end of the arena. For the first time, most of the crowd seemed to notice Adam. The Ra Yellow had his arms folded, black lips curled up in a smile. Even from a distance, Harriet could see eyeliner on him. Eyeliner he _hadn't _been wearing before he left lunch.

"So! Ready to get started?" Professor Oda asked as she took her place on the opposite side of the arena. Adam activated his Duel Disk.

"Are you? Are you ready to face the foul magic of necromancy, Professor?" Adam said.

"I think I can teach you a thing or two," she said, activating her own Duel Disk. It was a different model from the one she'd used in the entrance exams. This one was more angular, with a black metal lined with neon purple.

"Let's duel!" they both shouted as they drew their hands. (**Adam: 4000/Oda: 4000**)

"As is tradition, the student takes the first turn! And I begin my undead assault with this! The monster **Pyramid Turtle **in Defense Position!" A burst of light heralded the arrival of the stone turtle. It's surveyed the arena, it's cold gaze falling on Professor Oda. "Next shall be one card face-down. And that will end my turn," Adam said as he laid down the cards.

"As intimidating as your undead creature is, I'll just have to cut through it!" Professor Oda said as she drew a card. "Come to my side! **Six Samurai Zanji (1800/1300)**"

A human in glowing orange armor rose from the ground next to Professor Oda. It swiped it's sword through the air twice, more orange light trailing from the blade as it did.

"My valiant samurai will slice through anything your undead minions can throw at him! Now, Zanji! Attack Pyramid Turtle! Cross-Slash!" Professor Oda ordered. Her samurai blinked across the field and slashed through the turtle, which shattered.

"By destroying my turtle, you've unleashed the great beast hidden inside!" Adam said as he put his monster in the Graveyard. "For you see, when it's destroyed, I may special summon a Zombie-type monster with less than 2000 Defense points! It is time this creature claims it's rightful place as the ruler of the dead! Come forth! **Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon! (2400/2000)**"

From the broken and shattered remains of the Pyramid Turtle a black form launched into the air. Huge, decayed wings spread wide from it's back. Part of it's jaw hung open, it's milky red eyes staring at Professor Oda. The zombie dragon let out a deafening screech.

"Hey! Hey, it's Red-Eyes!" Pikeru said, appearing from Harriet's pocket. "Red-Eyes! Hey! Up here!"

"He's in the middle of a duel, idiot," Curran said, appearing next to Pikeru. "He'll look at us when he's ready."

"Feh. I fell right for it," Oda said. "I'll set three dcards face-down and end my turn."

"Which means it's time to activate _my _face-down. **DNA Surgery!**" Adam said. He gestured as the trap card rose up.

"Hey! I have that card too!" Calvin said, beaming at the field. "It's a cool one!"

"Yeah. Especially when it's paired with Red-Eyes Zombie Dragon," Harriet said.

"This trap card transforms all face-up monsters on the field into a type of my choosing! So they will all join my undead horde as Zombie-type!" Adam said. Immediately Zanji changed. His posture became slumped, his skin ashen and rotting.

"Now to formally start my turn," Adam said as he drew a card. "Hm. Yes, this will do nicely. I summon my trusty **Goblin Zombie (1100/1050)**. Now, my mighty Red-Eyes! Attack and destroy her Six Samurai Zanji! Necro Blast Attack!"

The Zombie Dragon reared it's head back and breathed out a blast of crackling black energy. The zombie samurai vanished into it as Oda let out a shout of alarm. **(Oda: 4000 - 3400)**

"You just triggered my Trap Card! **Shien's Scheme!**" Oda shouted. "When a Six Samurai monster on my side of the field is destroyed in battle, I get to Special Summon up to two Six Samurai monsters from my hand. I choose my **Grandmaster of the Six Samurai (2100/800)**! Come to me, in Attack Mode!"

Another samurai appeared on the field. His face was stern, his hair a deep grey. An eyepatch covered one of his eyes and he stood with his blade pointed down at the floor. As soon as he finished appearing, he changed. His jaw dropped open and his skin turned vaguely green. The hair became thinner and matted. He slumped forward.

"Of course, your DNA Surgery turns him into a Zombie," Oda said through gritted teeth.

"Just as it turned your Zanji into a Zombie! And because it was destroyed by my Red-Eyes Black Zombie Dragon, I can Special Summon it to my side of the field in Attack mode!" Adam said. Zanji reappeared, this time next to the zombie dragon that had destroyed him. "But I've not finished my turn yet. I activate my Continuous Spell Card **Ectoplasmer!**"

"Oh shit, it's the Ecto-Gobo-Wombo-Combo," Harriet said, beating the seat in front of her in excitement. "He started it _and _his Red-Eyes Monster Theft Chain! She's in so much trouble!"

Kendra gave Harriet a single raised eyebrow. "He hasn't won yet."

"At the end of my turn, Ectoplasmer activates! I tribute my Goblin Zombie to inflict damage to your life points equal to half of it's attack points! Souls themselves are my weapon. With them, I will chip away at you piece by piece until nothing's left!" Adam said as his little zombie turned to smoke. It blasted out, slamming into Professor Oda. **(Oda: 3400 - 2850) **

"Which makes this the perfect time to activate my second trap! **Swiftstrike Armor!**" Oda said, gesturing as the second card she'd laid down flipped up. "But let's worry about that on my turn, shall we?"

"Allow me to use my Goblin Zombie's effect first. I will claim a Zombie from my deck with less than 1500 Defense points. I choose Zombie Master, who I shall add to my hand," Adam said as he put the card in his hand. "It is your turn, Professor."

"And it's game over, Adam!" The Professor said as she drew a card. "My Swiftstrike Armor activates! If the card I draw in my Draw Phase is a Six Samurai monster, I get to Special Summon it! Come forth, **Six Samurai Nisashi **(**1400/700)!" **

Another samurai appeared, this one clad in green armor. It carried two swords, both bathed in a glowing green light. Adam raised an eyebrow at it. "How does this herald the end of the game?" he asked.

"Like this. I summon **Spirit of the Six Samurai (500/500) **in Attack Mode!" A suit of samurai armor appeared, only without a body in it. Instead, a swirling mass of blue flames held the plates aloft. "Because it is a Union monster, I may equip it to any Six Samurai monsters under my control. I choose Six Samurai Nisashi!" The armor flew out, settling atop Nisashi's green armor. Spectral flames spread over Nisashi before sinking into the Duel Monster's skin, tinging it blue. "This raises Nisashi's Attack points by 500!" **(Nisashi: 1400 - 1900)**

"I don't get it. If she equipped that Spirit thing to the Grandmaster, she'd've been able to take down Red-Eyes," Calvin muttered. "Did she make a mistake?"

"No. This is all calculated," Kendra said.

"Now, for my last face-down card. **Breakthrough!**" The last card in the line flipped up. "With this, I choose a Six Samurai monster I control. If it successfully destroys a monster, all Six Samurai monsters I control can attack my opponent directly! Nisashi! Attack and destroy Zanji! Put your brother out of his misery!"

The green samurai leaped forward, slashing down at Zanji. The other creature was split from head to groin and shattered into pieces. **(Adam: 4000 - 3900) **

"Not bad Professor. But hardly enough to end the game," Adam said, grinning at her. "My Red-Eyes will feast on you yet."

"Guess again, kiddo. See, when Nisashi's on the field and I have another Six Samurai monster, he can attack twice each turn. And thanks to Breakthrough!, he gets to attack you directly!" Professor Oda said, pointing towards Adam. Her green samurai darted forward and slashed his second blade up Adam. Adam recoiled, shouting in surprise. **(Adam: 3900 - 2000) **

"And now my Grandmaster of the Six Samurai gets his own direct attack! Finish him off with Grand Technique!" Oda ordered. The grey-haired samurai darted forward, bypassing the zombie dragon to slash up Adam with his silvery blade. **(Adam: 2000 - 0) **

Harriet stared; her jaw having dropped open. Adam took several steps back in surprise.

"Full health to zero in just one turn," Calvin whispered. "That's…that's impressive."

Professor Oda immediately crossed the arena towards Adam and offered a hand. "Good duel. That Red-Eyes of yours is something," she said. Adam shook her hand, still pale.

"Thanks," he muttered. Oda turned on her heel to face the class.

"So! Question for you guys! Did Adam do anything wrong?" she asked loudly. Jessica's hand shot up. "Yes, you!"

"He agreed to duel an opponent he wasn't ready for," Jessica said.

"Say more," Oda said with a nod.

"He's a Ra Yellow. He should've known a professor was outside of his league," Jessica said primly. Oda snorted and shook her head.

"Okay, so you were right he wasn't ready to duel me, but not because of his dorm. That's just some made up ranking system Mr. Kaiba wanted to use. Why was she right that he wasn't ready?"

Kendra raised her hand. "He went in blind. You were able to surprise him."

"Bingo. This's your first lesson in Pro-Dueling: do your homework. Learn what kinds of decks your opponents have and you'll have the advantage. If you can't, then you can't. That happens sometimes too. But if you can, do the work to figure it out. I can guarantee they'll do the work for you," Professor Oda said. "Did he do anything else wrong?"

"He lost," someone muttered, causing the person next to him to giggle.

Oda's finger snapped over to point at the boy who had spoken, a Ra Yellow with deep green eyes and long silvery hair. "Care to repeat that?"

"I said he lost," the boy repeated. "That's a mistake isn't it?"

Oda smirked up at the boy. "Second lesson for all of you: you're going to lose. At some point, every single one of you in this room will lose. It's how you learn from those losses that changes things for you. And to hammer that home, here's something you should know: everyone in this class will end up dueling each other. Especially the ones that need it." Oda turned to look at the Slifer Red section of the room. "You guys'll be dueling more than the others. Be ready for that." She looked out at the rest of the class. "Your homework for tonight! Find someone in this class that you'd like to duel first. Both of you have to agree and let me know. Your assignment begins…now."

And with that, she let the room descend into anarchic chatter as the students began searching for their opponents. Harriet watched Oda approach her brother before letting Calvin draw her into a discussion about who should duel who. Clearly both of them had a lot to learn.


	7. Chapter 7: Shiro vs Nerves

She'd warned him. Warned him when she made him the offer. Told him it would be fun, yes, but he'd probably lose. He'd brushed it off as smack talk, which he'd thought was strange from a teacher, but in the end, she'd been right.

Adam remained zoned out for the rest of class, while everyone struggled to find a dueling partner. He'd taken a seat, as close to his sister as he could. He replayed the duel through his mind for what felt like the thousandth time. Did he misplay? Or had he really been that outmatched?

They'd moved out of the room at some point, though Adam had barely noticed. He'd lost. From 4000 to 0 in just one turn. And he couldn't see what he could've done better. What were they going to think of him now? Now that they all watched him lose so spectacularly. It was bad enough that those rumors were starting to spread again, but now there was this.

There was a sharp sting as Curran smacked him across the face with her riding crop. Adam blinked, the room coming back into focus. Harriet rubbed at her forehead. "Thank you, Curran," she muttered under her breath. The Duel Spirit huffed and nodded once before vanishing. They were in one of the many courtyards, with the Sun just starting to dip below the horizon.

"Sorry, I was…in the zone," Adam muttered.

"I know," she said before giving him a small smile. "I was asking if you wanted to watch me duel in this 'Queen of Obelisk Blue' tournament thing."

Adam blinked and tilted his head before putting his hands on his hips. "And why is this the first I'm hearing about this?"

"Because I was busy meeting new people during lunch and we haven't talked all day," Harriet said. "This is basically the first chance I've gotten to tell you."

"Well, I'll be there. Unless it's at the Girl's Dorm, in which case I won't be," Adam said.

"It's not, my match is actually gonna be in the North Arena at seven," Harriet said. "Which means we have time to grab some dinner, if you're hungry."

"I suppose I could eat," Adam said with a melodramatic sigh. He let Harriet lead the way towards the cafeteria. Just as they entered, someone ran in front of them.

The guy was clearly in their class, though he looked young. His snow-white hair was wild and loose, but seemed to match his bright red blazer. Almost immediately, Adam was drawn to his eyes: bright, sparkling blue, full of life and energy. The boy took a deep breath and said "Ijustwantedtotellyouthatthatduelyouhadwasreallycool!"

Adam and Harriet both blinked. "Thank…you?" Adam said hesitantly. The Slifer boy's face went brick red. Adam and Harriet both looked at each other.

"Itwasnicetalkingtoyoubye!" the white-haired boy said before sprinting back to a table where another Slifer sat, this one with his face in his palm.

"That was…odd," Harriet said after a moment.

"But nice," Adam mumbled. Harriet gave him a quick side-eye and followed her brother's gaze. Adam was staring at the boy, trying to figure out who he was. Harriet's hand waved in front of his face, snapping his attention away. She stared at her brother, an eyebrow raised.

"Bro. Food," she said, grabbing his wrist and dragging him into the cafeteria. They grabbed a seat near the entrance. As usual, Harriet left first, leaving Adam to watch their table.

Or rather sit at their table. What he was watching was that boy from Slifer Red. At first, he tried to get a read on him. He seemed energetic and excitable, if nervous. The boy kept running his hands through his hair, laughing at whatever his friend was saying. The more Adam stared, the more his thoughts began to wander.

The boy was smaller than Adam. He also seemed rather skinny, but he definitely had some muscle on him. Maybe he was a soccer player? He could be. He had the right build for it. He had to be a Duelist to be at Duel Academy. So what kind of deck did he use? Where did he get that much energy from? How did he keep his hair so pristine? How would it feel to run his hands through it, parting the strands one by one before cupping the boy's face and okay where was this thought going?

He jumped when Harriet sat down between him and the other boy. She pushed a plate of food towards him. "I was gonna make you get it yourself, but you looked a little preoccupied."

"You don't say," Adam mumbled. He looked down at the food. "Do you know his name?"

"Whose? That guy who talked to us?" Harriet asked.

"Yeah. Who was he?" Adam asked, looking back up.

"No idea. But he's in our class, so it can't be hard to find out." Harriet's smile grew into a teasing smirk. "Adam Heartfield. Don't tell me your shriveled necrotic heart's _feeling _things again."

"Shut up, you think he's cute too," Adam said, giving his sister a small smile.

"I can see the appeal. But again, I haven't spent five minutes staring at him, so I don't have a firm opinion yet," Harriet said. The two ate in silence for a bit. As they finished, Adam collected the trash and carried to the bin. As he turned to head back to his seat, Adam bumped into an increasingly familiar Ra Yellow with silver hair, sending both of them stumbling back.

"Sorry. Are you alright?" Adam asked.

"God, watch where you're going, fa—"

And there was that word again. That single word that could send everything crashing down. That reminded him that as cute as strange boys were, he shouldn't be looking at them. That he was different. That he was wrong. Adam locked up, his back straightening. He opened his mouth to say something but the retort died in his throat. He ducked his head and weaved around the other Ra and returned to his sister.

Harriet took one look at him and immediately scowled. "I know that look."

"No you don't," Adam said quickly, trying to school his expression back into normality. He didn't quite succeed.

"Liar. I saw it enough during middle school, I know what it is," Harriet snapped. She put a hand on her twin's shoulder. Their eyes locked. "Who and what?" she asked softly.

"Don't. You have a duel to worry about. You can't pick a fight on day two," Adam said.

"Maybe later?" Harriet asked.

"Maybe," Adam said with a sigh. He let Harriet lead the way out. Pikeru emerged, floating next to Harriet. The small Spirit hesitated a moment and then drifted over to Adam.

"Adam? You're pretty cool," Pikeru said softly. Adam smiled at the spirit. He mouthed 'thank you'.

"Yeah. Don't ever forget it," Curran said as she emerged as well.

"Girls, please. Game faces," Harriet said. Her spirits both snapped to attention and gave tiny salutes. They made their way to the arena, only to find a trio of girls waiting outside of it already. Harriet's eyes narrowed at the girl in the lead.

"Jessica," she said curtly. "How'd your Duel go?"

"What a stupid question," Jessica said, scoffing. "Everyone knows I'm the best girl duelist in school."

"Oh? I thought that's what this tournament's about," Adam said, tilting his head slightly.

"Who's this? Your boyfriend?" Jessica asked. The two girls next to her giggled, as though their leader had just made a hilarious joke.

"Oh, gross, no," Adam said, making a disgusted face. Harriet made the exact same one.

"First of all, he's my brother," Harriet said.

"Second of all, I'm not interested," Adam said.

"Why? Too busy losing?" Jessica asked, her smile becoming sharper. "For how much you were talking, I thought you'd last more than a few turns against the Professor. But I guess the smallest dog bark's loudest."

"Not that you'd know anything about that," Harriet said sweetly. "Excuse me, I have a duel to win." With that, she elbowed her way past Jessica and her two cronies. Adam followed closely after.

"I'm going to skin her," Harriet grumbled.

"Why? She didn't really do anything," Adam said.

"She insulted you, now I'm mad," Harriet said.

"Then I feel sorry for whoever you're about to be dueling," Adam said cordially. As they entered the arena, Adam turned to look at the stands. A decent number of people filled the room, some from his class, others older. His eyes fell on Kendra. "I'm going to sit. Good luck," he said, heading into the stands.

He sat down next to the large, muscular girl. Kendra glanced at him, startling slightly.

"Hey," Adam said.

"Hey," Kendra said.

They were quiet for a few moments.

"You dueling in this tournament?" Adam asked.

"Yep. Won my first match," Kendra said.

"I see. Who do you duel next?"

"Whoever wins this," Kendra said, gesturing towards the arena. Harriet took up a position on the left side of the ring. On the other emerged a small girl with deep brown hair in a short ponytail. Large glasses covered a good part of her face and she seemed to be trembling like a leaf.

Fonda Fontaine stepped forward. "Welcome, everyone, to the final match of the Queen of Obelisk Blue qualifiers! To my left, we have the girl who won her entrance exam duel without losing a single life point, Harriet Hartfield!"

The applause was soft and polite. Except for Kendra, who slammed her hands together enthusiastically. "Yeah! Let's go, Harry!" she shouted. Harriet immediately blushed but gave Kendra a small wave. Then she perked up and gave Adam a much more enthusiastic wave.

"And to my right, we have the Valedictorian of Haddonfield High School, Coco Prescott!" Fonda Fontaine announced. The small girl waved her hand nervously, even as more polite applause broke out. "And now a coin flip, to decide who takes the first turn," Miss Fontaine said as the two duelists approached her.

"This seat taken?" someone asked Adam, causing him to startle. He looked up to see a boy with long brown hair and deep brown eyes. His coat was a bright white, with a deep blue trim running along it.

"No, it's not. Go for it," Adam said. The older boy beamed.

"Hey, thanks! I missed the tournament last year and I told myself I wouldn't miss it again," he said as he sat down. He offered Adam a hand. "I'm Atticus. Nice to meet you."

"I'm…Adam," Adam said as he shook the boy's hand.

"Nice to meet you, Adam." He stretched past Adam towards Kendra. She shook his hand hesitantly.

"Kendra."

"Cool. Adam and Kendra. Who're you guys cheering for?" Atticus asked as the two duelists moved back to their starting positions. Adam nodded towards Harriet.

"Her. She's my sister."

"Also her. She's my friend," Kendra said.

"Aw, that's great! You know, my sister's gonna be joining the academy next year. Are you two twi…"

"Shush, they're starting," Adam said.

"Let's duel!" both girls in the arena shouted.

(Author's Note: Normally I'd push to keep going, but this duel is much longer than I expected. So it gets it's own chapter. Also, I surprised myself by dropping Atticus in. Who let canon characters in here?! I certainly didn't! Intentionally. Eh, whatever. Thank you for reading, feel free to leave a review or send me any comments. I'm always open for feedback.)


	8. Chapter 8: Harriet vs Coco

"I'll start," Coco said, barely loud enough to hear.

"Coco, dear, you're going to have to speak up," Miss Fontaine said.

"R-Right. O-Okay. I-I'll summon **Dissolverock (900/1000) **in Defense Mode," Coco said. A human sized mound of melted rock oozed out of the ground. It bubbled and steamed in the air.

"A-And I'll play one face-down. Your turn," Coco said quickly. The girl shook slightly as she played the card. Then, she glanced around at the audience around them.

"Looks like she's got stage fright," Atticus said with a small smile. "Wonder what she's playing at with that monster of hers. Any ideas."

"Only theories," Adam said.

"My turn!" Harriet said, beaming at her opponent. "I draw!" She examined her hand and nodded. "I summon **Rapid-Fire Magician (1600/1200) **in Attack Mode!" The dark robed magician sprang into being, twirling his twin staves. He pointed both at Coco.

"Next I'll use a Magic card. **Magical Blast!**" Harriet played the card, causing purple energy to begin building between the Rapid-Fire Magician's staves. "When this card's activated, it inflicts 200 points of damage to my opponent for each Spellcaster I control. That's only one, but it's a start!" The blast fired out. Coco yelped in surprise, throwing up her arms to shield herself. **(Coco: 4000 - 3800) **

"But wait, I'm not done! I activate Rapid-Fire Magician's effect! See, whenever I activate a Normal Spell, Rapid-Fire Magician inflicts 400 points of damage right to my opponent!" The magician leveled his staves again, this time launching a stream of small spheres. They ricocheted around Coco, causing more panicked yelping from the other girl. **(Coco: 3800 - 3400) **

"But of course, Rapid-Fire Magician still gets his attack for the turn. So go! Destroy her Dissolverock! Magic Missiles!" Harriet ordered. The Rapid-Fire Magician released another stream of orbs, these ones punching through the Dissolverock, causing it to explode. "And to finish off my turn, I'll set a card face-down. Your move, Coco."

"Not a bad opening turn," Atticus said, patting Adam on the back, earning him a bewildered look.

"She often focus on direct damage like this?" Kendra asked, looking at the boy next to her. Adam shrugged.

"Doesn't matter how the life points go down, so long as they're going down," he said. "Harriet's not picky how she does it."

"It looks like she knows what she's doing though," Atticus said.

"She does. Though it'll depend on what her opponent's really playing at," Adam said.

Coco draws a card. "I…I activate **Enchanting Fitting Room**. This costs me 800 life points, but I get to look at the top four cards of my deck and play any Level 3 or lower Normal monsters I find there," she said, picking up the four cards. **(Coco: 3400 - 2600) **"T-There's only one. **Battle Warrior (700/100). **I'll Special Summon him in Defense Mode." A blue clad warrior appeared, kneeling in front of Coco. He had his arms crossed in a card, protecting his face.

"Another low level Normal Monster. Why?" Kendra asked.

"She probably has a plan," Atticus said. "Just…not sure what it is."

"N-Now I summon **Skull Servant (300/200) **in Defense Mode." A skeleton in a purple robe appeared kneeling next to the Battle Warrior. It's bony hands covered it's face. "T-That let's me activate **Chain Destruction** to destroy every Skull Servant in my Hand and Deck," Coco said as she flipped up her face-down. A chain flew out from the trap, piercing into Coco's deck. When it withdrew, two Skull Servants were skewered on it, both of which were dragged into the Graveyard.

Adam's and Harriet's eyes narrowed at the same time. "Interesting," Adam muttered.

"Y-Your turn," Coco said.

"Right. I activate the effect of my **Magical Blast!**" Harriet announced. "When this spell is in my Graveyard, I can use it's effect to add it to my hand rather than drawing a card." The spell slid out of Harriet's graveyard and into her waiting hand. "But before I activate it, I'll summon **Blast Magician (1400/1700) **in Attack Mode!"

Another wizard appeared on Harriet's field. This one wore deep red robes, his hat covering most of his face. In his hand was a staff with a hooked blade on the end.

"Next I'll activate **Magical Blast**! This time it'll deal 400 points of damage thanks to my Blast Magician joining us," Harriet said. The two magicians both pointed towards Coco, firing a noticeably larger ball of purple energy at her. **(Coco: 2600 - 2200)** "And, because I activated a Spell Card, Rapid-Fire Magician's effect activates, dealing another 400 points of damage!" Another stream of smaller orbs fired from the magician in black, all of them slamming into Coco, earning another shout of alarm. **(Coco: 2200 - 1800)**

"But we're not done here yet. Because I activated a Spell Card, Blast Magician gets a Spell Counter!" A ball of flames appeared over Blast Magician's shoulder, right next to his head. "But I think he could use some more. So I'll reveal my face-down! **Pitch-Black Power Stone!**"

The trap card turned face up and a small black orb floated out from it. Three golden triangles glowed within it, pulsing with arcane power. "This little card comes into play with three Spell Counters on it. And once per turn, I can transfer one of those to a creature I control that can take those Counters. So my Blast Magician now gets another!"

One of the triangles on the Orb dimmed, causing another fireball to form by Blast Magician's head. Harriet beamed. "Now, I'll use the effect of my Blast Magician! I can remove any number of Spell Counters from him and target a monster on my opponent's side of the field. I choose your Battle Warrior."

The magician in red lifted his bladed stick, aiming it at the blue warrior. The fireballs by his head floated down to the staff's tip, glowing brighter. "And if that monster has less Attack points than the number of counters I removed times 700, it's automatically destroyed. And since I'm removing two counters, Battle Warrior would need more than 1400 Attack to survive this," Harriet said.

"B-But Battle Warrior only has 1000 Attack points," Coco said softly.

"Which means it's destroyed," Harriet said with a grim nod. Both blasts of fire rocketed from the red spellcaster, slamming into Battle Warrior. The resulting explosion knocked Coco off her feet.

"And now, Blast Magician, destroy her Skull Servant. Flame Blast!" Harriet ordered. Her monster shifted it's aim and fired a stream of flame. The skeleton exploded into particles, disappearing.

"N-No…" Coco said weakly.

"And Rapid-Fire Magician is going to Attack you directly," Harriet said, wincing as she did. "Magic Missiles." The dual-wielding magician fired another stream of missiles into Coco, causing her to shriek as her Life Points dropped. **(Coco: 1800 - 200) **

Kendra winced. "Adam, your sister is vicious."

Adam just shrugged and nodded. "It's how the game's played. She'll win next turn if her opponent's not careful."

"Nah, she won't," Atticus said. "I think Coco's got a few tricks up her sleeve."

The girl in question reached for her deck and hesitated.

"What is this, some kind of joke!" someone from the audience shouted. "I thought we were gonna see a duel!"

"Yeah! Play a real card already!" another person shouted.

Coco looked around the stadium nervously. She looked back at her deck and visibly hesitated while reaching for it.

"Hey. Coco," Harriet said, causing the other girl to look up. "Don't focus on them. I'm the only thing you should be worrying about, okay? Take a deep breath and focus on me."

Coco blinked and nodded. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in. And then let it go.

"That's it. Now show me what you've been setting up," Harriet said.

Coco's eyes flew open as she drew a card. "R-Right! I-I summon **King of the Skull Servants!**" Another skeleton appeared, also dressed in a deep purple robe. As it manifested, three ghostly skeletons appeared around it, floating behind the corporeal one. The skulls chattered, teeth clacking together.

Adam's eyes lit up. "Aw, sick!"

"King of the Skull Servants has Attack points equal to the number of Skull Servants in my Graveyard…"

"Well that doesn't sound too bad," Harriet muttered.

"Times one thousand. And Chain Destruction let me put all three copies from my deck into my Graveyard." **(King of the Skull Servants: 3000/0) **

Harriet's eyes went wide. "Uh. Okay, cool. I see what you're going for. Very…uh…skull-y."

"King of the Skull Servants! Attack Rapid-Fire Magician with Bone Splinters!" Coco said, pointing dramatically towards the magician in black. Her skeleton surged forward, getting very close to the other creature's face. The three spectral ones joined in as well, causing the spellcaster to shatter. **(Harriet: 4000 - 2600) **"A-And now I place a card face down and end my turn. Your turn!"

"Nice shot, dude," Harriet said. "But I activate the effect of my Magical Blast! Rather than draw a card, I'm going to add Magical Blast back to my hand!"

Kendra folded her arms. "She's going to end this with effect damage?"

"Can you blame her? That sweet skeleton's got more Attack points than any monster in her Deck. Sure, she could _try _to top-deck removal, but one more shot from Magical Blast will win this for her," Adam said.

"Assuming it works. I doubt this'll be quite that easy," Atticus said.

"Next, I summon **Royal Magical Library (0/2000) **in Defense Mode!" Harriet announced. A tower of books with three jade platforms appeared on Harriet's side of the field. The platforms moved up and down slowly, like elevators. "And now I activate **Magical Blast! **Which'll inflict 400 points of damage, ending the game!"

"Go, Trap Card! **Destruct Potion!**" Coco said, waving her hand to activate her face-down. "I-I destroy one monster on my side of the field and gain Life Points equal to it's Attack points. And I choose King of the Skull Servants!" The skeletal king exploded into purple energy, which flowed into Coco. **(Coco: 200 - 3200)**

"Okay, but you're still taking 400 points of damage," Harriet said as the purple blast flew out once again, slamming into Coco. **(3200 - 2800) **A small ball of flame appeared by Blast Magician's head, while one of the Royal Magical Library's platforms lit up green. "And because you've got no monsters on the field, Blast Magician can attack you directly!"

The magician in red leveled his staff towards Coco once more, firing a ball of flames at the other girl. It exploded on impact. This time, Coco planted her feet and took the hit with a grimace. **(2800 - 1400) **"Last thing I'll do a transfer a Spell Counter from my Pitch-Black Power Stone to my Royal Magical Library. And I guess that'll have to do," Harriet said. "Your turn." Another triangle faded from the power stone as a second platform lit up.

"R-Right! I draw!" Coco pulled a new card from her deck and immediately beamed at it. "I activate **Monster Reborn! **And I'll use it to Special Summon **King of the Skull Servants (3000/0) **from my Graveyard!"

"Oh, great. Skeletor's back," Harriet grumbled as the monster reappeared. The ghostly duplicates reappeared shortly, all chattering ominously. As Coco moved Monster Reborn to the Graveyard, the last of the Royal Magical Library's platforms lit up.

"T-Then I'll summon **The Lady in Wight (0/2200)** in Defense Mode," Coco said. Another skeleton appeared, this one dressed in a rotting Victorian dress. The monster gave a small curtsy to Harriet. "While she's on the field, level 3 or lower Zombies I control can't be destroyed by battle and aren't affected by Spell or Trap effects. Except for her."

Harriet considered that and then looked up at Adam. "Why don't you have that card!" she shouted up to her twin.

"My monsters are too high level! And she's too classy to hang out with me!" Adam called back.

"A-And with that in place, I attack your Blast Magician with my King of the Skull Servants! Bone Splinters!" Coco said, pointing forward. Her monster launched itself across the field. Harriet's monster shattered and she hissed in annoyance. **(Harriet: 2600 - 1000)** "T-That's going to end my turn."

"Not a bad setup," Kendra said, looking at Coco's field. "A big hitter and something to shut down removal. Something that needs a pretty hefty hit itself to go down."

"It's pretty good, yeah. Not quite perfect though," Atticus said. "Harriet can't target the King with Spells or Traps, but she can target the Lady with them."

"There's an even bigger weakness than that," Adam said.

"Really? What…oh! Think she knows?" Atticus asked, suddenly getting excited as Harriet drew a card. She smirked.

"Yeah. She knows," Adam said.

"I activate the effect of my Royal Magical Library! When it's got three Spell Counters on it, I can remove them to check out a book and draw myself a card," Harriet said. All three platforms promptly dimmed. A book flew out of the library. It sank into Harriet's deck as she pulled a second card. She examined the new card and tilted her head slightly. "Yeah, I can make this work. I tribute my Royal Magical Library in order to summon a good friend of mine!" The library vanished, forming into shimmering purple light.

"Cut your strings and step into the spotlight! **Magical Marionette** **(2000/1000)**!" The light condensed itself, forming a purplish figure in a red hood. Two disembodied arms floated out from the cape, large purple gems taking up the back of their hands. The hands steepled, the fingers clacking against each other.

"And like that, this duel's over," Adam said, smiling slightly.

"Next I'll activate the Spell Card, **Pot of Greed! **And if you don't know what that does, you're at the wrong school!" Harriet said as she drew two more cards. The back of the Marionette's left hand lit up.

"W-Wait, what's that?" Coco asked, pointing to the now glowing hand.

"Huh? Oh, it's a Spell Counter. See, Magical Marionette gets one whenever a Spell card is activated. And in their case, they also gain 200 Attack points for every Spell Counter they have," Harriet said. **(2000 - 2200)** "But the real fun starts when they have _two _counters. I activate **Nightmare's Steel Cage!**" Instantly, a half-dome of steel sprouted around Harriet. Massive spikes lined the exterior, but kept her trapped within. The Marionette's other hand lit up.

"And now that Magical Marionette has two Spell Counters, I can use it's other effect!" Harriet said. "You know how your Lady in Wight protects from Spells and Traps? Well it can't do anything against monsters, now can it? Which means I can remove two counters from Magical Marionette to destroy your King of the Skull Servants!"

The Marionette extended it's hands. Strings of purple light flashed out, wrapping around the skeletal king, lifting it into the air. Then, the Marionette pulled it's arms to either side, causing the King of the Skull Servants to explode.

"That's one monster down," Atticus said. "Think she can get rid of the other?"

"Yes," Adam said, his smile spreading into a devious smirk. "Like I said, this duel's already over."

"Now, as much as I love this cage, it _does _keep me from attacking. And I'm gonna need to do that to win. So I'll use **Mystical Space Typhoon **to destroy my Nightmare's Steel Cage," Harriet said as she played the spell. A tornado whipped up around her, tearing the cage to pieces. "And hey, guess what, that's another Spell Counter for Magical Marionette! But I know what you're thinking: I still need one more to activate Marionette's effect. Which is why I'm using the last counter from my Pitch-Black Power Stone!" The final golden triangle faded, causing the stone to crack in half. It crumbled to dust as the Marionette's other hand lit up once more.

"I'll use Magical Marionette's ability one more time! This time to destroy your Lady in Wight!" Harriet said. Once again, the strings lashed out, lifting the well-dressed skeletal lady into the air. The Marionette spread it's arms, causing the lady to explode into sparks.

"N-No! I-I'm wide open!" Coco gasped.

"Yeah you are! Go, Magical Marionette! Death Doll Dance!" Harriet said, pointing her hand forward. The Marionette copied her pose, sending out a small doll that slashed Coco, causing the other girl to shriek. **(Coco: 1400 - 0)** Coco slumped down to her hands and knees.

"I-I-I lost…I never should've played," Coco whimpered.

"Are you kidding?! You were amazing! How many people can get in front of a crowd like this and duel someone they know nothing about! And how many people can make a comeback like the one you had in the middle?" Harriet asked, moving towards Coco. "Seriously. Good game."

"R-Really? You sure?" Coco asked, looking up at the other girl.

"Of course! You've got room for improvement but you wouldn't be at school if you didn't. But that was really good," Harriet said, offering a hand to let her up.

"Dang, your sister's pretty good," Atticus said, beaming at Adam. Adam just shrugged.

"I know."

"You two play a lot when you were growing up?" Atticus asked.

"Every night. Usually only one or two games though. It's why I know her deck so well," Adam said. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go congratulate her."

He got up and headed down to the arena floor, where Harriet and Coco were still talking quietly. "Harry!" he called as he got closer. She glanced over and beamed.

"Hey! What'd you think?" she asked.

"I think you rely on Magical Blast too much. Especially whenever you start with it," Adam said. He turned towards Coco. "You did very well too. Your Skull Servants served some serious surprises, spooking spectators with spectacular special abilities. As a fellow Zombie enthusiast, I can only hope we see more of each other."

Coco blinked and then gave him a nervous smile. "T-Thanks. I-I'm glad you think so."

"Was the alliteration necessary?" Harriet asked as the twins began to walk away.

"No, but it was fun," Adam said.

"How long did it take you to come up with?"

"I'm insulted that you think I couldn't improv that."

They continued to bicker as they left, unaware of the other student watching them. He chewed at his finger nails, his other hand playing with curly brown hair. "Fun…more spirits to play with," he giggled to himself. "I want to see more of them. More. _More._"

Another student moved to behind him, putting his hand on the other boy's shoulder. His skin was deeply tan, his red eyes glinting with amusement and malice. "You're going to have to wait, Jack. You never know when we might need them."


	9. Chapter 9: Harriet vs Social Hierarchies

"I can't believe we're going to the next round!" Pikeru cheered as Harriet got dressed for the day.

"Of course you can. She's got us to help her, there's no way she could've lost," Curran said, scoffing. Pikeru drifted into Curran's face, poking her finger in it.

"She didn't even draw us that game! Harry was great all on her own!" the spirit said, her ebon counterpart leaning back with each jab.

"Alright, alright, she did good! Back up!" Curran said.

"You do realize round one is the _easy _round, right?" Harriet said, raising an eyebrow at Pikeru. "Like, next round we're up against Kendra. And I haven't played her yet, but I'm told she's pretty good."

"Doesn't matter. We'll blast right through her anyway," Curran scoffed.

"I'm not as sure, but thanks for the vote of confidence," Harriet said as she exited her dorm, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

She'd gotten another early start; all the better to do some of those assignments that were building up. Her walk was fairly quiet, as most students didn't get out of bed until they absolutely needed to. She slipped into her first class; one unfortunately taught by Dr. Crowler. To her immense relief, the professor wasn't in sight.

She took her usual seat, pulled out the reading assignment they'd gotten in Professor Carter's history class. It wasn't due until next week, but she'd always enjoyed having a quiet read in the morning. Especially after having spent the past few days dueling.

The seconds passed into minutes, and then the door slid open again. She heard a noise of surprise from the doorway. "Oh. I didn't…expect…people here."

Harriet glanced over and saw the white-haired Slifer Red who had complimented Adam and then run off. The Slifer hesitated in the doorway. Harriet cocked an eyebrow at him.

"You can come in, I'm not gonna stop you," she said. He immediately perked up and rushed to a seat near hers. She tried to refocus on her assignment. After a few more dry pages on the life of Maximillian Pegasus, she finally gave up.

"You're the guy who complimented my brother, right? I never got your name," Harriet said, turning to face the boy. He'd taken out a sketchpad and was in the process of drawing something. The boy looked over to her and beamed.

"I'm Shiro! Nice to meet you."

"I'm Harriet. And…likewise, I guess," Harriet said.

"Wait, your brother is the guy who dueled the Professor, right? He was so cool! He had that awesome makeup on! Hey, do you think he could show me how to do that?" Shiro asked, leaning towards Harriet. She instinctively leaned back.

"Uh. I guess?"

"That'd be great! I've been trying to get into makeup like that but I keep getting distracted. I haven't had anyone to sit me down and show me what to do. I keep getting bored during tutorial videos cause I can't ask questions, you know?" Shiro said. Harriet opened her mouth to respond only for Shiro to cut her off. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be bothering you with this. You were doing work, I should leave you alone."

"No, it's fine. I wasn't getting much done anyway," Harriet said. "What do you think of the Academy so far?"

"Oh man, it's been so great! But…" Shiro hesitated, then sighed. "Some of the people here are really mean, you know? Like, yeah I'm in Slifer Red. But I still got _in, _didn't I? Doesn't that count? It's not my fault my brain doesn't work like everyone elses'."

"I think the Dorm Rankings are really stupid. Especially since girls are only in Obelisk Blue," Harriet said.

"Oh yeah! I forgot about that part! Why does it only apply to boys?" Shiro asked.

"Testosterone feeds competition, I guess," Harriet said with a shrug.

"I guess…" Shiro muttered.

There was a moment of comfortable silence, broken by someone new entering the room. The boy had silver hair and green-ish eyes, wearing the same yellow blazer Harriet's brother had. He took a seat between Harriet and Shiro. Harriet's eyes immediately narrowed in annoyance. "This guy bothering you?" the boy asked.

Harriet blinked at the new boy, scowled, and then leaned around him to see Shiro again. "Anyway, it doesn't make sense. Girls have varying skill levels. Shouldn't they be split up too? And if they added more dorms, they could accept more girl students," Harriet said.

"Yeah, why _are _there so few lady duelists?" Shiro said, perking up at Harriet's interest. "Especially here. Isn't this where everyone's supposed to be training?"

"Exactly! It's not like they're very welcoming to us! Putting us off by ourselves. Did you know the fastest way to get to the girl's dorm is by boat?" Harriet said.

"Is it really?" Shiro asked, jaw falling open. "That must be so pretty though!"

"Did you really not know that?" silver-haired kid said with a sneer. "God, they're right. You Slifers are all idiots."

Harriet's eyes narrowed again. "Hey, I didn't get your name. I'm Harriet."

The silver-haired boy turned and gave her what was probably supposed to be a winning smile. "I'm Francis. It's nice to meet you."

"Francis. Right. Cool. You're between me and a cool conversation. Move," Harriet said. More people were starting to file into the class now. Francis just snorted.

"Seriously? What kind of conversation could you be having with _him_?" Francis asked. Harriet started to retort only to spot Kendra.

"Kendra! Hey!" Harriet called, waving to her friend. Kendra grinned and bounded up to take the seat next to Harriet.

"Mornin'. Who's he?" Kendra asked as she threw her stuff on the desk and herself into a chair.

"This's Francis. He's between me and Shiro, an actually cool person. Hey, heard you won your duel yesterday. That means you're up against me tonight, right?" Harriet said.

Kendra smirked. "Sure am. Ready to lose?"

"_Yeah!_" Harriet said with enthusiasm. Kendra let out a small huff of laughter. "Seriously, though. Can't wait for it."

"Me neither," Kendra said. "Hey, wanna hang this weekend? Go to the beach or something?"

"Oh, that'd be nice. Can we bring some other people?" Harriet asked.

"Yes, your brother can come," Kendra said, rolling her eyes.

"Sweet. What about that friend of his, Calvin?"

"Yeah, him too."

"Can we invite one more person?" Harriet asked.

"Sure."

Harriet leaned again to look around Francis. Shiro was hunched over his desk now, looking much more nervous as more people came into the room. "Hey! Shiro!"

The Slifer's head snapped over and he pointed to himself in mild confusion.

"Yeah, you! You wanna hang out this weekend?" Harriet asked. Shiro immediately brightened.

"Yeah! That sounds fun!" Shiro said.

"Great, we'll talk more at lunch," Harriet said as Crowler finally entered the room, calling for quiet. She sat back, turning her attention to the lesson and ignoring the stink-eye Francis had started giving her. She could deal with him later. School was more important.

(Author's Note: Attention is like the moon; it waxes and wanes. And my attention had waned. But now it is waxing again. Why does the moon wax? What is it waxing? Does it wax on? Or wax off? Does this mean the moon is good at karate? Who can say.)


	10. Chapter 10: Adam vs Planning

Adam reached the cafeteria with a heavy sigh. Not having Harriet with him constantly was…weird. Sure, she was nearby. But he was so used to her being _with _him that not having her was disorienting. His eyes fell on his sister and he picked up the pace, heading towards her. Then, he slowed as he saw who was sitting with her.

The white-haired boy from Slifer Red. The one who had given Adam a hurried compliment and then run away. The one Adam had stared at through dinner. The boy was next to Harriet, in Adam's usual seat. Which, for starters, irked Adam in a way he didn't know he could be irked. Here was some cute boy, having the audacity to sit next to _his _sister, in _his _spot. That was where he was supposed to be, not someone else! Who was this guy?

He reached the table trying to smother a scowl. Harriet looked up at him. "Heya."

"Heya," Adam muttered sinking into a chair opposite from Harriet. His eyes flicked over to the boy and then back to his sister.

"Oh, right. Shiro, this's Adam. You met him," Harriet said.

"Y-Yeah. I did," Shiro said, staring at Adam. That wasn't unusual, the staring. Adam was pretty used to having people stare at him. He waited for the inevitable comment about his appearance; the questions about the lipstick or his nail polish. And sure enough, Shiro delivered.

"Your lipstick looks great! And do you wear foundation? I wear a little bit but I was never very good at it. Can you show me?" Shiro asked.

Adam blinked. That part was new. He hadn't been asked for help in the makeup department before. Especially not from another guy. "Uh. Sure, maybe?"

Shiro pumped his fists in a small celebration of victory.

"So Kendra and I were thinking of hanging out on the beach this weekend," Harriet said, her eyes going between the two boys. Her lips were ticking up in a mischievous grin and that was a little concerning. "Wanna come?"

"Depends. Will this beach have sunlight?" Adam asked.

"Unfortunately, yes," Harriet said. She held up a hand to cut off the complaints she knew were coming. "But it also has sand and water. And I know how much you like a good gothic sandcastle."

"…how do you make a gothic sandcastle?" Shiro asked.

"It's about an aesthetic. You build the foundation and then drizzle wet sand to provide the details," Adam said. "They're very time intensive but rewarding once you're done. Assuming the sun doesn't vaporize my sensitive skin first."

"Ms. Dorothy has sunscreen. And I mean the good stuff," Harriet hummed.

"…is Calvin invited?" Adam asked.

"Yes. He is. Where am I invited to?" Calvin asked, throwing himself into the seat next to Adam.

"The beach. This weekend. To celebrate the start of the year," Harriet said.

"Hm…how many people we talking?" Calvin asked.

"Everyone at this table plus Kendra," Harriet said. There's a slight squeak as Kendra pulled out a chair and sat down.

Calvin did a quick headcount. "Doesn't seem too bad. So why not? Might even be fun."

"That's generally the idea of beach parties, yes," Adam said, earning an eyeroll from Calvin.

"Hey, am I allowed to invite my roommate? I don't know if he'll go, but I'll feel bad if I don't," Shiro said, glancing around at all the new people.

"So long as we don't go above ten people, I'll be fine with it," Calvin said.

"Why ten?" Shiro asked.

"Because then that's a party and where there's a party, you get party crashers. And when you get party crashers, you get assholes like Francis," Calvin said.

"Who?" Adam asked, turning to look at his friend.

"You're in the same dorm and class as him, why don't you know him?" Calvin asked, tilting his head.

"Silver hair. Green-ish eyes," Kendra said.

"Oh, _him_," Adam said with a scowl. One he didn't hide quite fast enough as he caught his sister's eyes narrowing.

"What did he do?" she asked.

"Nothing you need to worry about," Adam said.

"Do I need to punch him?"

"You do not need to punch him," Adam said, sounding exasperated.

"Yes you do," Calvin said. Adam glared at him. "What? He's an ass. And I want to see him get punched."

"Why? What did he do?" Harriet asked.

"Don't," Adam snapped as Calvin opened his mouth to respond. Calvin turned to glare at Adam.

"Dude, she wants to help you."

"She _wants _to pick a fight that she doesn't need to pick. Francis is just annoying. Nothing more," Adam said.

"Hey! You don't get to say what I do and don't want," Harriet said, also glaring at Adam now.

"Maybe not, but I do know you. And you just want an excuse to duel him. You've got plenty of duels to worry about already," Adam said.

"No, I want to make certain my brother's doing okay. I don't need an excuse to duel people," Harriet said.

"And I'm _fine, _Harry. Please. Just let it go," Adam said. Harriet huffed and folded her arms.

"Be a lot more convincing if I hadn't just met Francis. The guy's a dick."

"I won't deny that," Adam said, shooting his sister a half-smile.

"Think he'll say no if I challenge him after class today?" Calvin asked. "I kinda want to see what he plays."

"Our match is after class," Kendra said, indicating herself and Harriet.

"You guys are dueling today?" Shiro asked, perking up.

"Yeah, for that Queen of Obelisk Blue Tournament thing," Harriet said. "You should come watch! It'll be great!"

"Can I really?! I'd love that! Can I sit with you guys?" Shiro asked, turning to look at Adam and Calvin. And dammit, there was far too much hope in those eyes of his. Adam jerked his gaze away, feeling his cheeks flushing.

"I don't see why not," he muttered.

"Only if you don't mind commentating. Because I _will _be commentating," Calvin said.

"That sounds like fun!" Shiro said just as the warning bell rang. "Assuming we make it through classes first."

"Any ideas what we do when we're not in the arena with Oda?" Calvin asked as he stood and stretched.

"Research projects, apparently. Starting to workshop stage personas and things like that," Harriet said as she started clearing her food away. "Or at least that's what the syllabus says."

"I can't believe you actually _read _the syllabus," Calvin said, wrinkling his nose at Harriet.

"I like being prepared, okay?" Harriet said. "Come on. Let's go."

As it turned out, Oda's classroom was very similar to the arena she'd taken them to the first day. Perhaps not enough room to have a fully holographic duel in, but the set-up was similar. Professor Oda grinned as the students followed in. Written on the board behind her, in big letters, was the word 'KAYFABE'.

"Alright, boys and girls. Who can tell me what this means?" Oda asked, slapping the board.

A few hands went up, primarily from Ra and Obelisk students. The only Slifer to put his hand up was slouched next to Shiro, a lazy grin on his face. Oda pointed to him.

"It's a kind of performance. Where an event is scripted in some way for the benefit of the audience," the boy said. He had lightly tanned skin and messy black hair. He looked tall next to Shiro and far more relaxed.

"Exactly! Who can tell me what it has to do with Pro Dueling?" Oda asked.

She was met with silence and bewildered looks. The Slifer boy from before rolled his eyes and raised his hand.

"Leonard, right?" Oda said, tilting her head with interest.  
"Call me Leo. And it's because professional dueling is a performance. Holograms don't actually hurt. People aren't actually that dramatic. Drama gets played up for the audience," Leo said.

"Correction. Holograms don't _usually _hurt and people aren't _usually _that dramatic. But that's the basics of it, yeah. Professional duelists are equal parts competitor and performer. You'll notice without dramatics or flair, duels get really boring. And you've gotta keep an audience's interest, on _top _of being a good duelist," Professor Oda said, pacing in front of her board now. She paused and gestured up towards Adam. "That's why I asked Adam to duel me in front of all of you the other day. He understands the performance aspect of dueling."

Adam wilted as most of the eyes in the room turned towards him. He kept his face down, tapping his pencil anxiously.

"That's why he hammed it up for me. Also because being dramatic can be a ton of fun. But that doesn't mean it feels natural. This part of the class is about looking at your deck and looking at yourself and putting together a stage persona. Making yourself larger than life. We'll also be going over each duel we have in class to point out where the performance can improve," Professor Oda said. "But for right now, we're gonna be looking at some classic examples. Now, how many of you have seen the Yugi Moto versus Seto Kaiba match from Battle City?"

Everyone student in the room, save for Shiro, raised their hands. Oda gave Shiro a look of surprise. "Really? Not once?" she asked him. There was a small ripple of laughter from the class. Shiro looked away, shaking his head. Oda's head snapped over to the laughing students. "Hey! None of that! This just means he gets to experience it for the first time! And let me tell you, it's _something_," she said as she lowered the screen and began to play the video.


	11. Chapter 11: Harriet vs Kendra Prelude

Harriet groaned as she looked at the clock again. Twenty minutes until the end of class. Hadn't it said that five minutes ago? Was that clock working right? Or did Professor Banner create some kind of time warp whenever he started talking about chemistry?

In any other class, she would've been paying attention and raptly taking notes. But chemistry? Chemistry when it was right before a duel with Kendra? She couldn't do it. It was just too boring, especially when she had living proof science couldn't account for everything. Heck, she had three. Two of them followed her around. She sighed again and looked back at the clock.

Still twenty minutes.

She couldn't even bother Adam, he wasn't sitting near her. By the way he was hunched over his notebook, he might've even been paying attention. The nerd. She kept her groan internal for now. A folded piece of paper slid in front of her. She took it and then glanced at the neighbor who had passed it.

It turned out to be a boy in Obelisk Blue, who glanced her way. She could see the hint of a grin on his face, his skin lightly tanned. She opened the note.

_I saw your duel yesterday. You're playing again tonight right? Good luck! Kendra's really good! – Sione. _

Sione. Why did that name ring a bell? Harriet hesitated for a moment before writing back.

_I know! I can't wait to duel her! – Harry _

She waited until Banner's back was turned and then passed the note back. She turned her attention back to the clock. Then, someone tapped her shoulder and the note was in front of her again.

_I can't wait to watch! I know it'll be a great duel! _

Harriet smiled to herself and wrote back: _Pro-Tip: Sit with Adam from Ra Yellow. He'll have the most informed commentary. _

Another minute and then the note was back. _He's the boy with the black lipstick, right? _

_ Yeah. _

_ Cool. I'll sit with him then. I'd hate to not know what's going on. _

Harriet snorted quietly. Then, thankfully, the bell rang, dismissing them from class.

"Oh thank god," Harriet grumbled, sweeping her stuff into her bag. The Obelisk boy who'd been passing her notes, Sione, laughed under his breath. She glanced towards him and offered a hand for a shake. "I'm Harriet. Thanks for the notes."

"I'm Sione. And you're welcome," the boy said, shaking her hand with a fairly firm grip. "I was about to go crazy if I didn't do something. So thanks for actually writing back."

"No problem," Harriet said, giving him a small smile. "I'll see you around?"

"I mean, we live on an island, so I certainly hope so," Sione said as Harriet stood. She gave a small chuckle and then rushed out the door.

She did not get very far.

In the hallway, seemingly waiting for her, was Jessica, her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face. Harriet rolled her eyes. "Look, Jessie, whatever this is, please save it. I just wanna go play a card game."

"What were you writing to Sione about?" Jessica demanded. Harriet's shoulders slumped.

"Oh my god, is this a boy thing? Please don't, I'm terrible at boy things," Harriet said.

"Why were you passing notes to him?" Jessica asked, leaning closer.

"He started it," Harriet said, trying to maneuver around the other girls, only to be blocked by one of the girl posse.

"Really? Why would the smartest and cutest boy in class want to pass notes with you?" Jessica asked, her scowl intensifying.

"Because I was next to him and he was bored? I don't know, I'm not a mind reader," Harriet said.

"Well, just remember that he's out of your league. So don't even think about trying anything with him," Jessica said, stabbing a finger towards Harriet's chest.

Harriet pinched the bridge of her nose. "You have no idea how much I want to headbutt you right now. You're making me late for my duel and I really don't care what this is. So just…get out of the way."

Jessica made a noise of exasperation and then stalked around Harriet, glaring at her as she passed. Harriet just shook her head and continued on her way. So what if a boy had passed her notes? He was asking about the duel. That was it. It wasn't anything even remotely flirty. Was it?

She ran through the note in her head, then shrugged. Wouldn't matter if it was or wasn't. She wasn't interested. She reached the arena to find Kendra already on the stage, grinning at her.

"Took you long enough," Kendra called.

"Sorry, had to deal with drama," Harriet said as she hopped onto stage and took her place. Kendra just made a noise of understanding and nodded.

That was a nice thing about Kendra, Harriet decided. She never really seemed to pry.

To Harriet's surprise, the person who took the center stage for announcing was not Fonda Fontaine. Professor Oda just sighed as she hefted the microphone. "Alright, everyone get your seats. This's the first round of the Queen of Obelisk Blue semi-finals," she said, her voice a flat monotone.

Harriet's eyes roamed the crowd and she spotted Adam near the top, sitting with Calvin. Shiro took a seat next to him, asking him questions excitedly. Even from here, Harriet could sense her brother's growing embarrassment. She grinned to herself. No matter how this duel turned out, she was still going to tease him about that.

She watched as Sione took a seat behind Adam and then flinched as Jessica and her girl posse took up the seats next to Sione. Never mind, she wouldn't tease Adam. She'd congratulate him if he could survive that kind of proximity.

Oda waved hand towards her and moved the microphone away. "You both set?" she asked. Both Harriet and Kendra nodded and Oda grinned, raising the microphone again.

"Alright, on my left, we have the girl who came in second on the entry exams and beat me with more health than she started with, Harriet Hartfield!" Oda announced. To Harriet's surprise, the arena erupted into cheer and applause.

"And on my right, we have Amazon duelist who won the Junior US National Championship, Kendra Prince!" Oda announced.

"Wait, you did _what?" _Harriet shrieked, jaw falling open. Kendra gave a short laugh and raised her Duel Disk.

"And now, we have the official coin-toss. Heads will be for Harriet, tails for Kendra," Oda announced before flipping the coin. "That's a tails! Duelists to your places and let the match begin!"

(Author's Note: I was gonna push myself and do the duel in this chapter too, but I just can't. This's gonna be the longest duel I've done and I want to give it time to breathe. It'll also give me a chance to develop the group watching the duel a little more. Mostly I want Adam to snark at Jessica. And possibly want to punch her.)


	12. Chapter 12: Harriet vs Kendra

Adam was as ready for this duel as he could be. If he was being honest, he'd say watching his sister duel was nerve-wracking. Especially in front of a crowd like this. Harriet prided herself on her skill and reputation. If she were to lose here, in front of everyone, she might never recover.

Of course, having two extremely energetic people sitting near him wasn't exactly helping.

"I saw Kendra's match yesterday, she was _savage_," Calvin was saying to Shiro, their conversation crossing over Adam like he wasn't there.

"Really?" Shiro said, mesmerized.

"Yeah! Her deck's wicked strong and super weird! It's full of strong, valorous warriors, risking their lives to beat the odds! It's amazing!"

"Wow! Hey Adam, what kind of deck does Harriet use?" Shiro asked, looking up at him with wide, intrigued eyes. And Adam was not prepared for this. He could maybe handle dueling in public, but having someone with that much kindness and enthusiasm asking him questions was too much. Especially when said person was cute.

"Spell counters," Adam muttered.

"Would you three shut up? The match is starting!" Jessica hissed from the seat behind them. Adam rolled his eyes. Oh right. That was a thing too. The girl who was quickly shaping up to be Harriet's nemesis, sitting behind him, glaring over his shoulder. Still, she was right. The match was about to begin.

Kendra raised her duel disk, drew her hand and then smirked. "I summon **Amazoness Fighter** **(1500/1300) **in Attack mode." The hologram burst to life, forming into a tall, muscular woman in a skimpy green outfit.

"Then, I'll place a card face down. Your move," Kendra said.

Harriet had been watching with laser focus, her eyebrows furrowed. "Alright then. Let's get this party started!" she said as she drew a card with a flourish. She examined it for a moment and then grinned. "I'll summon **Rapid-Fire Magician (1600/1200) **to the field in Attack mode!" The black robed figure appeared, twirling both of his staves, pointing them towards Kendra. "Now attack her Amazoness Fighter! Magic Missiles!" Harriet ordered. Her sorcerer pointed his weapons and fired a barrage of projectiles. The Amazoness Fighter exploded.

Kendra shielded herself from the fake smoke, a small smile on her face. "You're fiercer than I thought you'd be. Attacking without knowing my monster's effect."

"Oh, I know it," Harriet said. "You don't take battle damage from any battles involving Amazoness Fighter, right?"

"You did your homework," Kendra said, raising an eyebrow.

"If there's one thing you can count on, it's for me to do my homework," Harriet said confidently.

"BECAUSE YOU'RE A NERD!" Adam called down.

"FIGHT ME!" Harriet shouted back.

"LATER!"

Kendra began chuckling, shaking her head. Shiro gave Adam a deeply confused look, while Calvin snickered. "I love her. She knows that," Adam said, waving his hand dismissively.

"Anyway, I'll end off my turn by setting two cards face down. And that'll be it," Harriet said.

"What a useless turn," Jessica scoffed. "She destroyed a monster and didn't even deal any damage for it. That's just sad."

"…it's her first turn," Calvin said, turning to look back at Jessica. "What did you expect? An OTK?"

"No, it's exactly as pathetic as I expected. This match'll just be a disappointment. You watch," Jessica said.

"My turn." Kendra said as she drew a card. "I activate the Field Spell **Amazoness Village**. While this spell's on the field, all Amazoness monsters gain two hundred attack points." Houses began rising from the ground around both girls, the ground beneath them turning to a lush, green grass.

"Next, I summon **Amazoness Paladin (1700/300)** in Attack Mode!" Another woman, this one dressed in a hooded white robe rose, brandishing a sword. The Amazoness leveled her blade at Harriet, whose eyes narrowed. "Amazoness Paladin gains 200 Attack points for Amazoness Village _and _gains an additional 100 attack points for every Amazoness monster on the field. Giving her 2000 Attack points. Which is more than enough to destroy your Rapid-Fire Magician!"

The Paladin leapt into the air, descending on the Magician with her sword raised high. Harriet snorted.

"Seems like you forgot magicians are famous for their vanishing acts! I activate my facedown, **Magical Dimension!**" Harriet said. The card flipped face up and a coffin emerged from it. "With this, I tribute one Spellcaster type monster to destroy one of my opponent's monsters _and _to special summon a Spellcaster from my hand!" The coffin opened, pulling Rapid-Fire Magician and Amazoness Paladin into it. It slammed shut.

Then, it opened. A man in a white robe and hat stepped out, his face equally white. He twirled a white wand, tipped in blue, before bringing it to a rest at his side. "Say hello to **Cybernetic Magician (2400/1000)!" **

"And because you destroyed my Amazoness Paladin, I get to activate my Amazoness Village," Kendra said, giving a dangerous smile. "I can special summon an Amazoness from my deck with a level less than or equal to my Paladin. So I choose my **Amazoness Swordswoman** **(1500/1600; 1700 w/ village)**." A woman wielding a long, curved sword leaps from the houses surrounding the two, landing on the field between Kendra and Harriet. "That'll end my turn."

Adam nodded in satisfaction. "Kendra's good. She planned for Harriet's face-down."

"What do you think Harriet will do next?" the boy behind Adam asked, leaning down to confer with him. Adam glanced over his shoulder, up at him. The boy beamed. "Hey, I'm Sione. I sit next to your sister in a few classes. What do you think she'll do?"

Adam looked back at the field. "Stick to her plan, most likely. Try and get some means to destroy monsters to keep Amazoness Village from activating more than once a turn. So another heavy hitting monster."

"I draw!" Harriet said. "Cybernetic Magician, attack her Amazoness Swordswoman! Cyber Magic Strike!" Her monster twirled his wand once again before releasing a stream of energy at the Swordswoman.

"And to make things better, I'll be activating my other face-down! **Magician's Circle** let's my attacking Spellcaster call for backup from another Spellcaster. In this case, it'll be my **Magical Marionette (2000/1000)**!" Harriet said. The trap flipped face-up, creating a summoning circle. The nearly faceless puppet rose from the circle, gemmed hands floating in the air. "But back to my attack!"

Cybernetic Magician's beam connected with the Swordswoman, who exploded, her sword flying into the air…before rocketing out and slamming into Harriet.

"Amazoness Swordswoman redirects any Battle Damage I would take to my opponent," Kendra said. "Sorry about that." (Harriet: 4000 - 3300)

"You don't sound it," Harriet grumbled.

"I also activate my Amazoness Village to special summon someone you've seen before: Amazoness Paladin, in Attack Mode!" Kendra announced. A second Paladin leapt from the houses, landing with her blade drawn. "And as you'll remember…"

"She's got 2000 Attack points thanks to the village and her ability, I remember," Harriet said with a scowl. "I'll set a card facedown and end my turn."

"See what I mean? She can't even take her own turn without hurting herself," Jessica scoffed. "I can't believe she even got into this school in the first place."

Adam glanced over his shoulder at her. "She got two of her strongest monsters on the field. I'd say she got what she needed."

"Really? Those are her strongest monsters?" Jessica said, sneering at him. "That's even more pathetic."

"You should see their abilities," Adam said.

"Yeah, I don't think we will this game, bud," Calvin said, watching Kendra draw a card, then grin.

"I'll start my turn by activating my facedown card. **Amazoness Willpower**!" Kendra announced. A circle of red light formed in front of her. "This trap special summons an Amazoness Monster from my graveyard. However, they must Attack every turn that they're able," Kendra said as the ground cracked open and Amazoness Swordswoman **(1700/1600 w/ Village)** rose out of it, still ringed in light.

"Then, I'll summon **Amazoness Trainee (1700/1300 w/ Village) **in Attack mode!" Another woman appeared, this one visibly younger than the other two on Kendra's side of the field. She clutched a chain in both hands, held taut in front of her. "And because I have two more Amazoness monsters, my Paladin gains 200 more attack points **(2000 - 2200)**."

"That's still not enough Attack points," Shiro muttered, mostly to himself.

"It is for the Marionette," Sione said. "But I suspect Kendra's not done yet."

"Now, I activate a magic card, **Amazoness Fighting Spirit**!" Kendra said. The card rose from the ground, depicting Amazoness Fighter surrounded by surging yellow energy. "Now, whenever an Amazoness monster attacks a monster with more Attack Points than her, she gains 1000 extra attack points!"

Shiro's eyes went wide. "Seriously?! That's so powerful!" he gasped.

"See? It's not going to be much of a duel after all," Jessica said.

Adam slowly turned to glare at Jessica. She set her jaw and scowled at him.

"This isn't gonna matter much but since you activated a magic card, my Magical Marionette gains a spell counter," Harriet said, as one of the Marionette's gems lit up. **(2000 - 2200**)

"I know. And you're right, it won't matter much. Amazoness Trainee, attack Magical Marionette! Chain Lash!" Kendra ordered. The trainee cracked her chain, the spiked end flying towards the puppet.

"And right into my trap," Harriet said. "I activate **Magic Cylinder! **This turns your Trainee's attack right back at you as damage!" Two cylinders popped up in front of the Marionette. The chain vanished into one only to come flying out of the other and hit Kendra. "But since it negates the attack as you declare it, Amazoness Fighting Spirit doesn't give the boost. So…darn," Harriet said. **(Kendra: 4000 - 2300) **

"Nice hit. I should've guessed this wouldn't be flawless," Kendra said, dusting herself off.

"Yeah, I've still got tricks up my sleeve," Harriet said.

"Then I'll just have to hit you until you run out," Kendra said. "Amazoness Swordswoman! Attack Magical Marionette!"

The swordswoman leapt into the air. Yellow light flashed out, surging around her **(Swordswoman: 1700 to 2700)**. Her muscles visibly swelled as she brought her blade down on the Marionette, slicing it in half. The blast wave sent Harriet sliding back as her life points ticked down. **(Harriet: 3300 -2800)**

"Now, Amazoness Paladin! Attack Cybernetic Magician!" Kendra ordered, causing the hooded woman to dash forward. Once again, yellow light surrounded her, causing her muscles to swell (**Paladin: 2200 - 3200)**. She slashed upward, cutting the white-robed Magician in half. Another blast wave flew out, this one knocking Harriet to the ground. **(Harriet: 2800 - 2000) **She laughed as she picked herself back up.

"This isn't ideal."

"YOU THINK?!" Adam called.

"AGAIN, FIGHT ME!" Harriet called back.

Kendra shook her head with a snort. "I end my turn. Hope you've got something good."

"I do!" Harriet said as she drew a card, then looked at it. "Okay, I was bluffing before, but now I actually do! I summon **Royal Magical Library (0/2000) **in Defense Mode!" The towers of books appeared, floating platforms drifting up and down in front of them.

"She's planning to hide behind a bookcase?" Jessica scoffed.

"No, she's planning to hide in a library used by magicians, filled with all the defenses they can come up with to protect their secrets," Calvin said. "It's not that difficult, keep up."

"Now, I set a card facedown and then I'll activate the equip spell, **Mage Power!**" Harriet announced, playing both cards. Mage Power glowed, creating spectral red flames around the library.

"Mage Power increases the Attack and Defense points of a monster by 500 points for every Spell and Trap card I control. Which brings my Library up to 3000 Defense points," Harriet said. "Oh, and Royal Magical Library gets one of it's spell counters," she said as one of the platforms lit up. "That ends my turn."

"I draw," Kendra said. She looked up at Harriet, raising an eyebrow. "You realize that won't protect you, right?"

"Uh. What do you mean?" Harriet asked.

"Amazoness Swordswoman, attack Royal Magical Library!" Kendra ordered. The Swordswoman leaped into the air once more, bringing her blade down on the library.

"Wait, why's she doing that? Her Swordswoman only has 1700 attack points," Shiro asked, looking towards Adam. Adam's eyes widened in recognition just as Harriet's did.

"Because she reflects Battle Damage! _All _Battle Damage!" Adam said as Amazoness Swordswoman's sword was knocked out of her hand by a wall of books. It went flying over the library and stabbing down into Harriet, who gasped in pain and dropped to one knee. **(Harriet: 2000 - 700)**

"I end my turn," Kendra said. "You need a better plan, Harry."

"Like I've been saying, she's not anything special," Jessica said, shaking her head. "It's almost pathetic that she thought that would even work."

Sione glanced towards Adam. "Think she has a shot of winning?"

"She's got no cards in hand. It'll all depend on what she draws," Calvin said.

"In that case, yes," Adam said. "Harriet's deck hasn't let her down before. It won't start now."

"I draw!" Harriet said. She looked at the card and growled in frustration. "I activate the Spell Card **Nightmare's Steel Cage**!" In a surge of light, spiked metal bars appeared. They formed a dome around Kendra and Kendra's side of the field, trapping the Amazons inside. "For the next two turns, neither of us can attack. And because it's a Spell Card, Royal Magical Library gets another token!" Harriet said, the second platform lighting up.

"She really is just stalling," Jessica said. "How sad."

"Stalling long enough to draw another card," Adam said.

"Next, I'll activate **Pitch-Black Power Stone**, which comes into play with three spell counters. I'll transfer one to my Royal Magical Library immediately," Harriet said. The black stone appeared behind her library, one of it's yellow triangles fading away as the last platform lit up.

"That'll let me draw a card," Harriet said. All three of the Royal Magical Library's platforms dimmed, a book flying out and into Harriet's deck. Adam saw the flicker of a girl in black, standing at Harriet's shoulder. Both of the twins relaxed, matching smiles forming.

"I summon **Ebon Magician Curran (1200/0) **in Attack Mode!" Harriet announced. The small girl appeared, cracking her purple riding crop. She glanced at the bars around her and then at all the Amazons facing her.

"Looks like you got yourself in another jam," Curran said, shaking her head.

"Get me out of it and I'll owe you one," Harriet said.

"Tch. Whatever," Curran said.

"I end my turn," Harriet said.

Kendra just nodded. "Okay. I draw." She pulled the card and then sighed. "Not exactly useful right now. But why not. I tribute Amazoness Trainee to summon **Amazoness Queen (2600/1800 w/ Village)** in Attack mode." The Trainee disappeared in a swirl of light, being replaced by a far taller woman dressed in armor. She hefted an enormous blade, resting it over her shoulder. "And then I'll end my turn. Because your stupid cage keeps me from attacking."

"Yep. Now I draw," Harriet said. "And Ebon Magician Curran's effect activates! During my Standby Phase, she deals my opponent 300 points of damage for each monster they control! And since you've got three, that means 900!"

Kendra blinked in surprise before Curran cracked her riding crop. Sparks of purple electricity leaped from the three Amazoness monsters and hit Kendra. **(Kendra: 2300 - 1400) **She watched as her life points ticked down, then looked at Harriet, a grin slowly forming. "You play dirty."

"I think you'll find all of this follows the rules," Harriet said primly. "I set a monster face down and use Pitch Black Power Stone to transfer a Spell Counter to my Royal Magical Library." Once again, the jade platform lit up as a yellow triangle faded. "That ends my turn."

"My turn. I draw!" Kendra announced. She examined her hand for a moment then nodded to herself. "I'll have one turn once this cage is gone. That'll have to be when I end this duel. I set one card face down and end my turn."

"Right. I draw," Harriet said. The steel cage flickered and then disappeared into motes of light, causing Harriet to grimace. She looked at the card in her hand. "First off, Ebon Magician Curran's effect activates, inflicting 900 points of damage to you!" The sparks of purple flew out from the Amazoness monsters again, striking Kendra. She didn't flinch this time, taking the attack with a grin. **(Kendra: 1400 -500) **

"All tied up. Think you can end it this turn?" Kendra asked.

"I don't think I need to," Harriet said. "I flip summon my face-down monster, **Magician of Faith (300/400).**" A woman rose from the card, clutching a crescent moon tipped staff.

"When she's flip-summoned, I get to add a spell card from my Graveyard to my hand. I think I'll pick my Nightmare's Steel Cage," Harriet said, pulling out the card and showing it to Kendra. "And then, I'll be activating it immediately!"

"And I'll be stopping it immediately!" Kendra said as her card flipped face-up. "**Magic Jammer! **I discard a card and negate the activation of an opponent's Spell Card! Sorry, Harry!"

Tendrils of red smoke drifted from the activated trap, encircling the bars of the cage and turning them to similar smoke. Then, the smoke dispersed, leaving the field clear.

"Worthless," Jessica said. "Why did I bother watching this?"

"Because otherwise you'd miss seeing my sister win," Adam said, grinning up at Jessica. A grin matched by Harriet down in the arena.

"Not bad, but exactly what I thought you'd do!" Harriet said. "I play **Magicians Unite! **I choose two Spellcasters in attack mode, namely Ebon Magician Curran and Magician of Faith. And one of them has their Attack points become 3000!"

"What?!" Jessica shrieked.

"The magicians get to combine their powers to defeat their numerically and strategically superior foes in a single overwhelming display of magic!" Calvin said, leaning forward excitedly.

"Ebon Magician Curran, unite with Magician of Faith and attack Amazoness Paladin! Ebon Magical Jolt!" Harriet ordered. Curran and Magician of Faith both leaped into the air, touching the tips of their staffs together. An enormous magical circle appeared behind them, firing a blast of purple lightning down at Amazoness Paladin. The hooded woman's eyes went wide for a moment before she vanished in an explosion.

There was a brief moment of silence before the auditorium exploded into applause, Calvin and Shiro's clapping probably the loudest.

As the holographic smoke cleared, Kendra stood on the other side, staring at Harriet in open admiration. The two girls stepped forward, shaking hands and conferring quietly.

Adam looked back at Jessica with a smirk.

"Your sister is a coward," Jessica said flatly. "Hiding behind tricks and traps rather than fighting in the open. It's disgraceful."

"It's effective," Adam said with a shrug.

Jessica huffed and walked away, her two cronies following after her. Sione gave Adam an appraising look. "You're being awfully nice to her."

Adam just shrugged again. "No reason not to be. She's hardly the worst person here."

"I guess. Nice to sit with you, by the way," Sione said, standing as well. "See you around!"

"Hm? Oh, yes. See you," Adam said as Sione left. He watched the Obelisk Blue boy go for a moment before allowing himself to be pulled into Shiro and Calvin's enthusiastic conversation.

(Author's Note: If I weren't currently stuck at home, I probably wouldn't have written this. So you can thank quarantine for this ridiculously long duel.)


End file.
